- The Parliament of Europe has endorsed the Commission's plan for a regulatory measure to safeguard laborers from hazards linked to being exposed to ionizing radiation.
In the town of Großschirma, located in central Saxony, Alternative for Germany (AfD) politician Rolf Weigand was voted as mayor by an impressive 82% of the vote, with a turnout of approximately 77%. Interestingly, Weigand was the sole contender in the mayoral election as no other nominations were put forward.
In the initial round of voting in March, Weigand had garnered nearly 60% of the votes in the 5,500-resident community. Two candidates from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Independent Citizens' Association contested against him, but the election was later annulled due to infringements of election regulations, leading to a re-run.
In Saxony, mayors serve a term of seven years. If there is only one candidate, like in Großschirma, voters have the option to write in another person's name on their ballot if they choose not to support the candidate.
Prior to this, Weigand served as the first deputy mayor.
The need for elections in Großschirma arose following the unfortunate suicide of long-serving mayor Volkmar Schreiter last autumn. Weigand had also contested for the mayoral position in the previous election but was defeated by Schreiter. He was already serving as the first deputy mayor in the small town.
The AfD claimed the top spot in Pirna town hall with Tim Lochner, although Lochner himself is not an AfD member. Weigand is now the first mayor in Saxony who is a member of the AfD party.
Simultaneously, a new mayor was also elected in Weißwasser. However, the outcome of the election was yet to be announced. The Saxon AfD, currently categorized as right-wing extremist by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, is challenging this classification in court.
After the annulled election due to regulatory infringements, voters in Saxony had the option to write in another person's name if they didn't support Weigand in the re-run, but he still managed to win the mayoral position in Großschirma. Furthermore, Weigand's victory makes him the first AfD party member to hold the mayoral position in Saxony.
