Voters in a Bavarian town elected a mayor whose name wasn’t on the ballot

Steffen Romstöck has stated that he will honor the decision of the residents and accept the position of mayor, despite not being an official candidate in the recent election. Over the weekend, voters in Röttingen, a town in Bavaria, Germany, elected him as their new mayor with a 51.9% majority. This unusual situation arose as voters manually wrote Romstöck’s name on the ballots, bypassing the only official candidate, Jürgen Boier. Romstöck will now take over the mayoral role from Hermann Gabel, who resigned due to health reasons in July. The unexpected outcome has raised questions about the legality and democratic process of the election. Romstöck, a non-party member, expressed surprise at the overwhelming support he received and pledged to respect the voters’ choice. The situation was unconventional as the local council had nominated two candidates, but only one was chosen, leaving the election with just one approved candidate on the ballot. Local voters reportedly organized through WhatsApp groups to write in Romstöck’s name. While the Bavarian electoral law allows citizens to handwrite their preferred candidate’s name on the ballot, concerns remain about the democratic process in nominating mayoral candidates in Röttingen.