In the Salzlandkreis, the district elections have started under Corona measures. The incumbent Markus Bauer from the SPD and Alexander Goebel from the CDU are running for office. The district administrator is elected for the next seven years.
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Those entitled to vote should come to the polling stations with a mask, their distance and, if possible, their own pen. This had already been pointed out in the election notifications. There are disinfectants and masks in the polling stations. Cities like Aschersleben had also called for voting by postal vote.
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Aschersleben’s deputy election leader, Birgit Engel, told MDR SACHSEN-ANHALT that a total of 179 election workers were on duty in Aschersleben. But due to the corona pandemic, there were 65 cancellations from election workers who had to be replaced by Friday. Among those who canceled were sick and high-risk patients – but also many who were afraid to be active in the polling stations.
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Voluntary corona rapid tests – but sometimes missing training
The election workers had the opportunity to be tested for Corona before the polling stations opened. The tests are voluntary, the district election committee has provided corresponding corona rapid test kits. The announced the Salzlandkreis on January 19th. The municipalities should organize the tests. In the test sets, however, there are instructions that make self-testing easy to understand, said District Returning Officer Marko Gregor MDR SACHSEN-ANHALT when asked. The district election management is not aware of whether the communities have carried out training courses or deployed medical specialists.
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Some polling stations, such as a polling station in Barby, handled the tests. On January 19, the election workers were made aware of the special conditions of this election, mainly on the testing, said an election worker in Barby MDR SACHSEN-ANHALT. One of the election workers, a medical professional, carried out the tests. The result: everyone who volunteered to be tested is negative.
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But at the polling station in Wilsleben, for example, which belongs to the city of Aschersleben, according to information from MDR SACHSEN-ANHALT, there is no one who can use the tests. For reasons of time, the electoral committee and electoral workers in Wilsleben decided not to carry out the voluntary rapid tests before, but only after the election, said local mayor Steffen Amme MDR SACHSEN-ANHALT. The testing should reassure the election workers. According to the MDR-SACHSEN-ANHALT reporter, the mandatory measures of the hygiene concept are observed in Wilsleben.
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