Run-off vote in Closewitz is not necessary

No run-off election is necessary in Closewitz on Sunday. The necessary majority of votes has been determined for the incumbent Andreas Schlegel. The reason for this correction to the election result is the special case of the election procedure in Closewitz.

The special feature of the first ballot on 26 May 2019 was that there was no nomination. In such a case, voters cast their vote by entering the surname, first name and profession of an eligible person on the official ballot paper. The legal basis for this is Sections 25 (1) and 24 (7) sentence 1 of the Thuringian Local Elections Act. In this constellation, votes are invalid in accordance with Sections 25 (1), 24 (7) sentence 2 no. 5 of the Thuringian Local Elections Act if persons entered by the voter on the ballot paper are not eligible.

The electoral board cannot carry out this check on election day. It is carried out by the electoral authority, which checks the eligibility of the persons written down by the voter, i.e. at least 21 years of age and main residence in Closewitz for at least six months before the election. The legal basis for this is §§ 25 Para. 1, 24 Para. 2 Sentence 1 of the Thuringian Local Elections Act.

After checking the persons entered on the ballot paper by the voter, two additional invalid votes must be shown. This reduction reduces the number of valid votes cast to 71.

The number of votes achieved by the incumbent, Mr. Andreas Schlegel, is therefore now sufficient to achieve the majority required under Sections 25 (1) and 24 (8) sentence 1 of the Thuringian Local Elections Act. Mr. Schlegel was elected with 50.7% of the valid votes cast. The election committee confirmed this correction on Monday evening. There was intensive communication with the population of Closewitz about this special case.