Maik Wobst wins the mayoral election in Königshain. The 56-year-old road master was not even on the ballot paper. However, the people of Königshain wrote his name on the ballot paper by hand – and gave him an absolute majority.
Strange mayoral election in Königshain (1150 inhabitants, district of Görlitz)! Maik Wobst, 56-year-old road master, won the vote even though his name was not printed on the ballot.
Only the 50-year-old entrepreneur Peter Himmstedt stood for election, but he ultimately received only 48.7 percent of the votes cast and just lost to Wobst (50.4 percent).
More than half of all voters in Königshain wrote their name on the ballot paper themselves, which is possible according to the Saxon municipal election regulations if only one candidate is running for election.
“I didn’t expect people to go to the polling station and write my name on a piece of paper,” said Wobst, impressed.
Now the longstanding municipal council is the new honorary mayor. Wobst had actually considered running for election because the citizens had repeatedly motivated him to do so while shopping.
However, there was no longer enough time to be set up in time, reports Wobst. Instead, the street master informed the voters by handbill that they had the opportunity to express a personal wish on the ballot paper if there was only one candidate. That paid off for the 56-year-old!
In addition to the new mayor, Andreas Seidel (0.4 percent), Bodo Schaal (0.3 percent) and Armin Pietschmann (0.1 percent) were also proposed.
Wobst immediately formulated clear goals: the financial situation of the municipality must be improved, tourism boosted and cultural offerings revived after the Corona period.
After the election, Himmstedt presented himself as a fair loser: “It’s strange that someone is so active, even though he didn’t stand for election. Nevertheless, it is a statement from the population and a strong democratic sign.”
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