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Meritorious era ends: Elbe-Elster district says goodbye to Dirk Gebhard
District Administrator Christian Jaschinski honored Dirk Gebhard's services to the Elbe-Elster district during his farewell in the district council.
Meritorious era ends: Elbe-Elster district says goodbye to Dirk Gebhard
The political landscape in the Elbe-Elster district has changed noticeably in the last few days. On June 9th, the long-awaited elections for the European Parliament and the district council took place, an event that was of great importance for many citizens. District returning officer Dirk Gebhard, who worked in the public service for over 40 years, played a crucial role and significantly supported this process. Although there were longer waiting times in some polling stations, Gebhard reported that the election was calm, with a voter turnout of almost 70%, which was still above the national average, and that is 10% more than in the last elections five years ago, where turnout was 60%.
In the last few days, Gebhard's farewell took place in the district council, which marks the end of an era. With his tireless commitment to administrative modernization and as a contact person for complex legal issues, Gebhard has significantly influenced the development of the district since the formation of a large district in 1993. District Administrator Christian Jaschinski praised Gebhard's decades of work and emphasized the value of his leadership, especially during crisis situations, such as flooding. As district returning officer, he not only had responsibility for the democratic processes, but also shaped the training of prospective administrative specialists as a lecturer at the Niederlausitzer Studieninstitut.
The election results in Elbe-Elster
The elections on June 9th led to an interesting mood in the district. Here are the results of the European elections and the distribution of seats in the new district council:
| party | Share of votes | Seats in the district council |
|---|---|---|
| AfD | 35.1% | 14 |
| CDU | 19.2% | 11 |
| Alliance Sarah Wagenknecht | 15.2% | – |
| SPD | 10.2% | 5 |
| The left | 3.2% | 2 |
| Free voters | 2.7% | 3 |
| FDP | 2.4% | 1 |
| Greens | 2.3% | 1 |
| Individual applicant Michael Oecknigk | – | 1 |
| Herzberg voter group | – | 1 |
| Rural voter group in the district town of Herzberg | – | 1 |
With a total of 50 seats in the district council, the electorate expects the new elected officials to bring a breath of fresh air into political work. What is interesting is that almost 1,900 volunteer election workers were on duty and around 85,000 eligible voters, including around 2,500 first-time voters, cast their votes. The final election results were determined by the district election committee on June 14th.
A turning point in the district
Dirk Gebhard's farewell comes at a crucial moment. While he will remain as head of the department until the end of September 2025, the next district council on October 13th will already fall during his retirement period. Both Jaschinski and the members of the district council paid tribute to Gebhard and thanked him for his tireless efforts and all his years of commitment to the community. This is a clear indication that a new era is emerging in the Elbe-Elster district, in which the course for the future must be set anew.
For further information about the elections and their results, readers can visit the district’s homepage: www.lkee.de. You can also find out more about elections and statistics at Statisticsportal.de.
In the end, we can only hope that the coming months will be both challenging and successful for Elbe-Elster.