Saarland: Regional assembly to be re-elected following court decision

According to a ruling by the Saarland Higher Administrative Court, the regional assembly of the Saarbrücken regional association will be re-elected on Sunday. The court declared the June 2024 election invalid because no AfD list was approved at the time.

The AfD had submitted two election proposals, after which the election committee rejected both proposals because they violated the ban on multiple applications. According to the court, a correct election proposal should have been approved.

A total of eight parties and voter groups are running in the new election. The regional assembly has 45 members. So far, the CDU was the strongest faction in the regional assembly with 15 seats, the SPD had 13 seats.

The AfD is sending 29 candidates into the race. From 2019 to 2024, the party was elected with four representatives in the regional assembly. The BSW is taking part in this election, as a spokesman said.

The regional assembly is elected every five years and there are almost 250,000 eligible voters. The Saarbrücken regional association said the duration of the electoral period would not be affected by the new election. The next regular election is in 2029.