Thuringia
Almost only men elected as full-time mayors
The field of candidates for the mayoral elections in Thuringia was dominated by men. Photo
© Jacob Schröter/dpa
The field of candidates for the mayoral elections in Thuringia was already dominated by men. Only a tiny number of women made it into the full-time mayoral office.
In the elections for the full-time mayors in Thuringia’s towns and municipalities have won almost exclusively men. Of the 64 positions to be filled on Sunday, only two went directly to women, and in another election a woman made it to the runoff. In three of these municipalities, the votes had not yet been fully counted by early Monday morning, and there too men were in the lead, according to data from the state election officer.
The new mayors are Rita Spies (CDU) in Uder in the Eichsfeld district and the independent Kerstin Barczus in Kaulsdorf in the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district. CDU woman Grit Reinhardt (CDU) made it to the runoff election in Berga-Wünschendorf, which will take place on June 9th parallel to the European elections. Even if she were to win, the proportion of women among the newly elected mayors would be less than five percent.
The field of candidates for the mayoral elections was already dominated by men. The State Statistical Office recorded a female share of around eleven percent for all positions to be filled, including the honorary posts.