The mayor of the southern Thuringian city of Hildburghausen, Tilo Kummer (Left), has not survived a recall procedure supported by SPD and AfD city councillors. According to a preliminary result, 2853 people voted on Sunday for his recall, 1390 against, as voting leader Kristin Obst said after counting all votes. The referendum had been set in motion by, among others, city councillors of the SPD, AfD and a right-wing extremist voters' association, which had triggered controversy, especially within the SPD in Thuringia.
In the recall motion, the signatories had argued that the relationship of trust between citizens and the mayor had been disturbed. Concerned residents had turned partly personally to the city councils, because they were dissatisfied with his administration. Controversial topics included a swimming pool, problems in a kindergarten and at the fire department.
Leading Thuringian SPD politicians had warned against initiating the recall procedure against Kummer together with the AfD and the city council of the voters' association Bündnis-Zukunft-Hildburghausen (BZH). In the 2019 report of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the BZH group was described as the "leading right-wing extremist association in the district of Hildburghausen". In Thuringia, the AfD state association is also classified by the state secret service as a secure right-wing extremist and is being monitored.
SPD city councillors voted for recall procedure
A two-thirds majority in the city council had been required to initiate the recall procedure. All city councillors except those of the Left had voted for the procedure. The only CDU city councillor was missing from the vote. Without the three SPD votes, it would not have been enough for the two-thirds majority.
The three SPD city councillors had thus also ignored warnings from Thuringia's SPD leader Georg Maier, who had previously said: "We cannot initiate a deselection of a left-wing mayor with votes from the AfD."
The citizens now had the last word on Kummer's future as city chief. For the deselection more yes than no votes were necessary, in addition, the yes votes had to make up at least 30 percent of the 9338 eligible voters, so 2802 yes votes were necessary, according to the voting manager. Hildburghausen residents aged 16 and over could cast their vote.
Now the election result must first be officially determined. According to earlier information from the district of Hildburghausen, there will be a meeting of the voting committee on Monday. Later, the legal supervisory authority has to check everything, according to the circle, this could take a week. As soon as the result has been determined there, Kummer leaves office the day after. Then there should also be a date for the new election of the mayor.
A city councillor has since left the SPD, against the other two Social Democrats in the city council a party order procedure was initiated, which was later postponed.