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CDU lawmakers in Saxony-Anhalt asked to sign affidavits denying AfD votes
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CDU lawmakers in the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament were reportedly asked to sign sworn affidavits stating they did not vote for AfD candidates Tobias Rausch for parliamentary president or Hans-Thomas Tillschneider for vice president, according to multiple CDU lawmakers confirmed to dpa and first reported by Nius. Rausch received four more votes than the AfD and BSW combined hold, and Tillschneider's election was surprising, prompting speculation that CDU members may have backed them—a claim the faction has consistently denied. CDU faction leader Sven Schulze sharply denied the Nius report, saying "No. That is not true." Rausch is the first AfD parliamentary president in a German parliament. Separately, the CDU faction has agreed to leave the chamber during the first two rounds of the December minister-president election, a plan facing growing internal criticism, including from former interior minister Holger Stahlknecht, who warned about the precedent of boycotting votes.
Source report
"In the CDU, more and more voices are speaking of a certain self-abandonment of the party," says WELT editor Sebastian Vorbach on the decision of the state parliamentary group in Saxony-Anhalt to leave the chamber during the minister-president election.
Who voted for the AfD candidates in the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament?
According to their own statements, CDU MPs were asked to provide sworn assurances that they did not do so.
In the CDU parliamentary group in Saxony-Anhalt, controversy continues over the election of an AfD MP as state parliament president. According to several CDU MPs speaking to the German Press Agency (dpa), CDU MPs were asked to sign a sworn statement in a group meeting confirming that they had not voted for the AfD candidate. The news portal Nius first reported on this.
According to the report, CDU MPs were presented with a sworn declaration in an internal group meeting stating that they had neither voted for AfD politician Tobias Rausch as state parliament president nor for his party colleague Hans-Thomas Tillschneider as vice-president of the state parliament.
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Rausch received four more votes in early October than the AfD and BSW have MPs combined. The election of Tillschneider as vice-president was surprising.
Since then, there has been discussion about whether these votes might have come from the CDU. The parliamentary group has consistently denied this. Tobias Rausch is the first AfD state parliament president of any German parliament.
According to Nius, CDU group leader Sven Schulze allegedly presented the sworn statement at a meeting. Schulze clearly denied the Nius report: "No. That is not true."
Sharp criticism within CDU Saxony-Anhalt over decision to skip minister-president election
The election of the minister-president is scheduled for December. The CDU parliamentary group has agreed to leave the chamber during the first two rounds of voting. However, MP Guido Heuer announced that he intends to participate in the election.
Resistance within the CDU in Saxony-Anhalt is growing. "We should question what happens if this example sets a precedent," Holger Stahlknecht, former interior minister of Saxony-Anhalt and long-serving former member of the state parliament, told WELT regarding the plan to boycott the minister-president election. "Will the parliamentary group then leave the chamber in the future for every vote that could become critical?" Stahlknecht said.
ll with dpa
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CDU Saxony-Anhalt in turmoil as lawmakers were asked to swear they did not vote for AfD candidates