Hildburghausen (dpa/th) – In Hildburghausen, the citizens entitled to vote vote today in a voting procedure on the future of their city boss Tilo Kummer (left). The referendum was initiated by city councilors from the SPD, the AfD and a right-wing extremist group, among others. Polling stations are open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The question on the ballot paper is: “Are you in favor of voting out the mayor, Mr. Tilo Kummer?” In the motion to vote out, the signatories argued that the relationship of trust between the citizens and the mayor was disturbed.
For a deselection, however, not only more yes than no votes are necessary. The yes votes must also represent at least 30 percent of those entitled to vote. As of February 10, 2022, there were 9,406 eligible voters. The people of Hildburghausen can vote from the age of 16.
The initiation of the voting-off procedure against Kummer caused controversy, especially within the SPD. Before the decision in the city council, for which a two-thirds majority was required, Thuringia’s SPD leader Georg Maier had urgently warned his party colleagues in the southern Thuringian city against voting together with AfD and the right-wing voters’ association “Bündnis-Zukunft-Hildburghausen (BZH) – in vain.
