Frankfurt’s controversial Lord Mayor Peter Feldmann (SPD) was voted out of office in a referendum. This emerges from the preliminary interim results of the vote on Sunday, which the city published on the Internet.
Feldmann voted out – more than 95 percent vote against the SPD politician
After counting almost all voting districts, more than 95 percent voted for Feldmann’s deselection. At the same time, the second condition was met, according to which at least 30 percent of all those entitled to vote had to vote for the deselection. This corresponds to 152,455 yes votes, shortly before the end of the count this number was more than 196,000. A good half a million Frankfurters were called upon to vote on the future of the SPD politician.
Feldmann admitted defeat in the evening. He said he had reached the quorum for his vote out. “That means that I will no longer be mayor on Friday.” The final result of the vote is to be officially determined on this day.
Feldmann has been under pressure for months – also due to the cup scandal at Eintracht Frankfurt
The 64-year-old SPD politician has been under pressure for many months. He is currently in the dock of the Frankfurt district court on suspicion of corruption. It is about his close ties to Arbeiterwohlfahrt (Awo). Feldman denies the allegations. He also slipped up again and again, for example when he snatched the Frankfurt Eintracht European Cup in the Römer. The Eintracht leadership then declared him an undesirable person in the stadium.
Feldmann let calls for his resignation fade away, he did not accept being voted out by the city councillors, so the citizens were now asked.
Almost all parties in Frankfurt’s Römer had called for Feldmann’s resignation, even his own, the SPD. However, representatives from the left spectrum had emphasized that Feldmann had done a lot for the city.
According to the Hessian Association of Cities, it is extremely rare for a mayor to be voted out of office. The most prominent case was Margret Härtel (CDU) in Hanau: After allegations of accepting advantages in office, she was voted out of office in 2003 with 89.5 percent of the votes. Haertel defended himself legally, but the administrative court in Frankfurt dismissed the lawsuit.
