The upcoming Rostock mayoral election is currently shaping the cityscape - as is the sometimes rough handling of the election posters. The reports to the police are piling up.
Rostock (dpa/mv) - Damaged, smeared or disappeared election posters - the Rostock police headquarters have received a large number of reports in connection with the upcoming mayoral election in the Hanseatic city. There were more than 50, said police spokeswoman Sophie Pawelke on Monday. The number of advertisements should not be equated with the number of posters affected. The NDR had previously reported.
From the individual applicant Michael Ebert; which is supported by the CDU, FDP and UFR; or by the AfD candidate Michael Meister, according to Pawelke, there are collective ads, each of which is about hundreds to a thousand posters that are allegedly stolen. But other candidates are also affected. "Just because we now mostly have Mr. Ebert or Mr. Meister here doesn't mean that other candidates didn't notice it too. They might not have reported it and reported it less often."
In one case, a poster of the SPD candidate Carmen-Alina Botezatu burned. Another ad is about a swastika that was painted on a poster by non-party Jörg Kibellus. In such cases, there is a charge of using signs of unconstitutional organizations. The non-party Jens Kaufmann had given up an ad for insult because of a statement by a user of the short message service Twitter.
Reports come not only from the candidates, but also from witnesses or directly from the police. Suspects would be identified primarily if they were caught in the act. In hindsight, the determination is rather difficult.
Last week it became known that the police were investigating after an attack on the AfD candidate's car. Unknown people are said to have destroyed two tires on the 48-year-old member of parliament's car. According to earlier police information, it is still being checked whether there is a political background.
Next Sunday the people of Rostock are called upon to elect a new mayor. There are 17 candidates to choose from. Should a runoff election become necessary, this is scheduled for November 27th. The former incumbent Claus Ruhe Madsen moved to Schleswig-Holstein in June as Economics Minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister Daniel Günther (CDU).
