2024-04-24 16:42:10
A well-known figure from Thuringia’s right-wing extremist scene is allowed to take part in a local election. The decision can no longer be reversed.
An applicant described by the Thuringian Office for the Protection of the Constitution as a right-wing extremist known throughout Germany has been approved for local elections in the Hildburghausen district. He can therefore run again as a candidate for district administrator in the elections on May 26th. A majority in the responsible election committee approved Tommy Frenck’s candidacy, the district’s returning officer, Mario Geitt, told the German Press Agency on Tuesday. Of the five members of the committee, three voted for Frenck’s approval and two against, said Geitt.
The 37-year-old Frenck has been a central figure in Thuringia’s right-wing extremist scene for years. He is considered an organizer of right-wing rock concerts and runs a restaurant in Veßra Monastery, which is a meeting place for the nationwide right-wing extremist scene. In the past he was mentioned by name in reports for the protection of the constitution, most recently in 2022.
Almost 17 percent in the last election
Before their decision, the Thuringian Office for the Protection of the Constitution provided the members of the election committee with their own dossier about Frenck. Geitt said these seven pages were “noted” by committee members. According to Geitt, the election committee’s decision is unappealable.
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The Thuringian local election law actually excludes extremists from taking part in mayoral and district council elections. According to the current legal situation, “anyone who does not guarantee that they will at all times stand up for the free, democratic basic order in the sense of the Basic Law and the State Constitution cannot be elected.”
Despite this legal situation, Frenck had already been approved as a candidate for district administrator in the 2018 district election. At that time, almost 17 percent of the approximately 54,500 eligible voters in the Hildburghausen district voted for him as district administrator. There have already been protests in recent days against Frenck’s possible admission to the next district election.