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Potsdam votes: Mayoral election on September 21st – Who will win?
On September 21st, Potsdam will elect a new mayor. Around 143,000 citizens are entitled to vote; Postal voting is possible.
Potsdam votes: Mayoral election on September 21st – Who will win?
The city of Potsdam will soon get off to a lively election start, with the mayoral elections taking place on September 21st. Around 143,000 eligible voters are called upon to cast their votes. The election notifications will be sent out from Tuesday, August 12th and should reach citizens by the end of the month. This measure is part of the preparation for an election that became necessary after the former mayor Mike Schubert (SPD) was voted out of office in a referendum. Schubert came under criticism for, among other things, mismanagement and a controversial affair over free tickets. The elections were actually not supposed to take place until next year, but now the people of Potsdam are facing a crucial election that they can actively help shape, reports tagesschau.de.
A total of seven candidates are hoping for support from citizens. There are six men and one woman, which is interesting in terms of gender equality. The applicants are: Severin Fischer (SPD), Clemens Viehrig (CDU), Chaled-Uwe Said (AfD), Dirk Harder (non-party, supported by the Left), Michael Reichert (Free Voters), Alexander Dietmar Wietschel (The Party) and Noosha Aubel (non-party, supported by the Greens, Die Andere and Volt). If there is no absolute majority in September, the people of Potsdam will be forced to hold a runoff election on October 12th diebrandenburger.de.
The importance of choice
The mayoral election is not only an important event for the city leaders, but also for the entire political landscape in Brandenburg. Since 1993, citizens have had the right to directly elect their mayors. This is a step in the right direction, giving citizens more say. In independent cities like Potsdam, the mayors are called Lord Mayors. For municipalities, this means that elected representatives bear a great deal of responsibility for municipal processes. Unfortunately, voter turnout in Brandenburg is often low. In fact, less than half of those eligible to vote took part in the last elections, which shows that there is still room for improvement, emphasizes an analysis by political-education-brandenburg.de.
One reason for the misunderstood voting rights could be ignorance of the role of mayors or inadequate election programs. The aim here is to inform citizens as best as possible and motivate them to take part in the election. After all, citizens have gained significantly more say in recent years, and this should be used. With a good hand and effective election campaigns, those responsible can certainly mobilize more voters.