Electoral officer takes stock

"I was able to see that the people inside and outside the administration, many of whom have many years of experience and prudence, once again did a very good job," said Thomas Wulf. He emphasised that it is hardly possible to hold democratic elections in a legally secure and transparent manner without considerable organisational effort.

At times no access to results via the internet
Wulf paid particular attention to the technical infrastructure on election Sunday. After all, the reliable use of data processing is essential. "I very much regret that the advertised retrieval of the election results via the Internet was not possible for a considerable period of time in the evening hours," he explained.

The cause of the malfunction was an overload of the servers at the contracted IT service provider Citeq from Münster, triggered by very high access numbers. Numerous local authorities were affected by this problem. Citeq is currently analysing the background to the problem. Thomas Wulf believes that additional measures are necessary to prevent a recurrence in future elections.

Voter turnout increased, but still room for improvement
Voter turnout in Beckum rose to around 52.8 per cent compared to the 2020 local elections (49.7 per cent). The national average was 56.8 per cent. "We should all endeavour to further increase voter turnout in the city," the municipal election officer appealed to the councillors.

What happens next?
On Thursday, the election committee will determine the official final result. "The election committee is bound by the decisions of the election committees and may only correct any miscalculations," explained Wulf.

Congratulations and thanks
Finally, the electoral officer congratulated all those elected and wished them good luck for the tasks ahead: "I would also like to thank the candidates who did not receive enough votes for their willingness to stand for election. This commitment is democratic behaviour in action."