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Steffen Romstöck said that he would respect the residents’ choice and would take over the helm of the municipality, even if he didn’t run
The measure, which will come into force from 1 January 2025, will be partial and temporary…for now
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Literally embracing an ‘old-school’ approach to education
The municipality provides the tool to encourage more sustainable thinking and planning in the field of urban design
The energy-saving devices are part of a wider programme on the part of the Spanish municipality to show support for local SMEs
Despite the small scale of an SMR, it won’t be cheap to build, and it could become a reality only in the next decade
Travelling anywhere in the regional public transit networks will cost either 2 or 2.5 euros
The traffic authorities tap into some psychology hacks to train road users for the new reality
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And it’s taller and more crooked than the one in Pisa
The measure, which will come into force from 1 January 2025, will be partial and temporary…for now
Literally embracing an ‘old-school’ approach to education
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Steffen Romstöck said that he would respect the residents’ choice and would take over the helm of the municipality, even if he didn’t run
This past weekend voters in the town of Röttingen, in the German State of Bavaria, elected their new mayor with a 51.9% majority. This news would seem rather ordinary and unremarkable if it wasn’t for the fact that the winner’s name was not on the ballots. Voters wrote the name of Steffen Romstöck manually on the ballots before casting them.
Mr Romstöck will thus become the new mayor of the town, numbering 1,600 residents, beating the only official candidate on the ballot Jürgen Boier. Romstöck takes over the office of mayor from Hermann Gabel, who resigned at the end of July for health reasons.
"I was very surprised. I assumed that I would get a few votes - but not the absolute majority," explained the non-party member Romstöck, as quoted by BR.
This story is intriguing as it raises a bunch of questions regarding legality and democracy.
One may wonder if Steffen Romstöck was so popular with the local residents then why didn’t he just officially run in the election?
Well, he couldn’t because the local council nominated two candidates, of which only one was chosen at a nomination meeting on 22 July (attended by some residents). This strange process made the official election just a meaningless formality since there were no other approved candidates on the ballot.
Many of the local voters, however, disagreed with this state of affairs and apparently organized in a grassroots manner (through WhatsApp groups) to just write down the name of their preferred candidate on the ballot.
Steffen Romstöck had initially refused to officially run but announced that if elected in this guerilla-style method he would respect the choice of the voters.
It appears that according to the Bavarian electoral law, any German citizen who is at least 18 years old can write their name on the ballot paper by hand and thus vote. That settles the question of legality. However, the question of plurality and democratic choice in the process of nominating mayoral candidates in the town of Röttingen remains open.
Steffen Romstöck said that he would respect the residents’ choice and would take over the helm of the municipality, even if he didn’t run
The measure, which will come into force from 1 January 2025, will be partial and temporary…for now
Following a period of debate on whether the tactic favoured by environmental activists represents damage to private property
Literally embracing an ‘old-school’ approach to education
The municipality provides the tool to encourage more sustainable thinking and planning in the field of urban design
The energy-saving devices are part of a wider programme on the part of the Spanish municipality to show support for local SMEs
Travelling anywhere in the regional public transit networks will cost either 2 or 2.5 euros
Faulty device owners can get back up to 200 euros in reimbursement
Following a period of debate on whether the tactic favoured by environmental activists represents damage to private property
And it’s taller and more crooked than the one in Pisa
Travelling anywhere in the regional public transit networks will cost either 2 or 2.5 euros
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Apply by 10 November and do your part for the transformation of European public spaces
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