Dear residents of Wiesbaden,

On Sunday, March 15, local elections will be held in Hesse. I urge all residents of Wiesbaden to exercise this important civil right and cast their votes. The right to vote was won through a long historical struggle. Voting is a form of direct citizen participation and is important for our democracy. 

According to estimates by the municipal office for statistics and urban research, 208,970 citizens will be eligible to vote in the local elections in Wiesbaden. In addition to around 184,742 Germans, around 24,228 citizens from other European Union member states are also eligible to vote in the local elections.

In these elections, representatives for three municipal bodies will be elected in Wiesbaden: for the city council, for each of the 26 local districts, the members of the local advisory council, and the members of the foreign residents' advisory council. The electoral system is a proportional representation system linked to personal elections. All eligible voters have as many votes as there are seats to be allocated: in Wiesbaden, 81 votes for the election of the city council, between five and 17 votes for the election of the respective local advisory council (depending on the number of inhabitants there), and 31 votes for the election of the Foreigners' Advisory Council. Voters can give candidates up to three votes (cumulative voting) and distribute their votes among candidates from different electoral lists (parties and voter groups) (split voting). If, on the other hand, only a single electoral list is approved, voting is based on the principles of majority voting. The term of office is five years.

Unfortunately, voter turnout in the last local elections in 2021 was only 41.8 percent. Let's send a stronger signal for our democracy this time around. After all, local politics affects us all directly: nowhere else can we have such a direct say in shaping our own living environment. The spectrum of political influence ranges from basic issues such as water, energy, and housing supply to economic structures and educational and cultural institutions. And you, as a voter, determine who should represent your interests in your city. Local politics takes place right on our doorstep, in the truest sense of the word – because even the sidewalk in front of our house is a municipal matter. And that's why local politics concerns everyone. It's about signaling, as citizens, how we imagine our Wiesbaden, how we want to live in the city – and how it should develop.

I very much hope that you will exercise your right to vote and thus help to ensure that your ideas can be realized. It is easy to criticize, but our democracy thrives on people who contribute constructively and cast their votes. Show that you care about our city and vote!

Sincerely

Gert-Uwe Mende
Lord Mayor