Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) - The AfD failed again with its candidate in the election of the Vice President of the North Rhine-Westphalian state parliament. The Dorsten criminologist Daniel Zerbin received 13 of 193 votes cast at the constitutive meeting on Wednesday and was thus defeated by the Green Party candidate, Berivan Aymaz, for whom 170 parliamentarians voted. Ten MPs abstained. The 49-year-old translator and moderator from Cologne has been a member of the state parliament since June 2017.
The AfD had previously wanted to change the current rules of procedure in order to enforce a fourth deputy post. In 2017 she failed with the attempt and this time the application was rejected by the other parliamentary groups.
Rainer Schmeltzer was elected first vice-president for the SPD in a secret ballot. The 61-year-old from Lünen received 152 of 195 votes cast, with 32 votes against and 11 abstentions. The former trade union secretary has been a member of the state parliament since June 2000.
The election for the third vice-president had to be canceled due to incorrect ballot papers. Since some MPs had already voted, new ballot papers had to be reprinted. After a short interruption, the liberal Christof Rasche was finally elected third vice president. The 59-year-old received 161 of 191 votes cast, with 16 votes against and 14 abstentions. Rasche is a trained bank clerk and has been a member of the state parliament since June 2000.
Before that, the Christian Democrat André Kuper was re-elected President of the state parliament. The president is traditionally the strongest parliamentary group.
