Statutes of 28.08.2024 on the election of the Advisory Board for Migration and Integration of the City of Idar-Oberstein

The City Council adopted the following bylaws on 28.08.2024 on the basis of Section 24 of the Municipal Code (GemO) in conjunction with Section 56 GemO:

Section 1 - Fundamentals

§ 1
Establishment and tasks

(1) In order to promote the participation of residents with a migration background in the shaping of municipal integration policy and to utilize their experience and expertise, the City of Idar-Oberstein shall establish an Advisory Board for Migration and Integration.

(2) The task of the Advisory Board for Migration and Integration is to promote and secure the equal coexistence of people of different nationalities, cultures and religions living in the city of Idar-Oberstein and to further develop the municipal integration process.

(3) The Advisory Board for Migration and Integration discusses the concerns of residents with a migration background and issues of municipal integration policy and represents them to the city's bodies. The Advisory Board for Migration and Integration can issue statements on all issues relating to its area of responsibility.

(4) The Advisory Board for Migration and Integration can advise on all matters within its remit. It may comment on these matters to the city's bodies insofar as self-administration matters of the city are concerned. At the request of the Advisory Board for Migration and Integration, the Lord Mayor must submit matters within the meaning of sentence 2 to the City Council for consultation and decision. The Chairperson of the Advisory Board for Migration and Integration or one of his/her deputies is entitled to attend meetings of the City Council or its committees in an advisory capacity when discussing these matters. The Advisory Board should comment on issues submitted to it by the City Council, a committee or the Lord Mayor.

(5) The Advisory Board for Migration and Integration shall be informed and consulted in good time about the basis, objectives, purposes and effects of the city's plans and projects that affect the remit of the Advisory Board for Migration and Integration in a particular way.

(6) The Advisory Board for Migration and Integration shall prepare a report on its activities in the middle and at the end of the period for which it is elected, which shall be submitted to the City Council.

(7) The city administration advises and supports the Advisory Board for Migration and Integration in the fulfillment of its tasks and conducts its business.

§ 2
Total number of members

(1) The number of members elected by the group of eligible voters specified in Section 56 (2) sentence 2 GemO shall be 10; paragraph 2 shall remain unaffected. In addition to the aforementioned elected members, further members shall be appointed to the Advisory Board for Migration and Integration; their number may not exceed one third of the total number (one-third rule). The total number of members is 15, meaning that up to 5 members can be appointed.

(2) If the number of elected members of the Advisory Board for Migration and Integration falls below the number specified in paragraph 1 sentence 1 because fewer persons are elected or seats on the Advisory Board for Migration and Integration can no longer be filled following the resignation of members, this number shall replace the number of elected members specified in paragraph 1 sentence 1.

(3) The elected members of the Advisory Board shall be elected by the group of eligible voters specified in § 56 Para. 2 Sentence 2 GemO in a general, equal, secret, direct and free election for a term of five years. The provisions of Section 2 apply to the election.

(4) The appointed members shall be appointed in accordance with the principles of § 45 GemO. If the one-third rule is exceeded during the term of office of the advisory board, all appointed members shall be reappointed.

§ 3
Chairperson and deputy chairpersons, rules of procedure

At its constituent meeting, the advisory board elects a chairperson and one or more deputies from among its members. In all other respects, the provisions of the City Council's rules of procedure apply.

Section 2 - Election day, electoral system, electoral procedure

§ 4
Election day

The city council determines the election day after consulting the Advisory Board for Migration and Integration. The election day must be a Sunday. The decision must be announced by the 69th day before the election.

§5
Electoral system

(1) The elected members of the Advisory Board for Migration and Integration shall be elected in accordance with the principles of majority voting on the basis of approved nominations. Each voter has as many votes as there are elected members of the Advisory Board for Migration and Integration to be elected. The eligible persons are elected in the order of the votes cast for them. In the event of a tie, the Chairman of the Election Committee shall draw lots to decide.

(2) If the voter casts more votes than he or she is entitled to, the vote is invalid in total.

 § 6

Electoral bodies

(1) The Chief Electoral Officer is the Lord Mayor. The Chief Electoral Officer shall manage the preparation and conduct of the election in the city in accordance with the following provisions. He may commission an alderman or a city employee to manage the day-to-day election business.

(2) The election officer is the chairman of the election committee. He shall appoint the members of the election committee no later than the 47th day before the election. Those entitled to vote for the Advisory Board should be appropriately represented on the Election Committee in terms of nationality. The election committee decides on the admission of the nominations and determines the election results.

The Election Committee meets in public and is quorate if the Chairperson is present, regardless of the number of members present.

(3) The Chief Electoral Officer shall appoint an election committee and convene it in good time. The election committee shall meet in public. The election committee is quorate if at least three members are present in the election room.

§ Section 7
Conduct of the election

(1) The election committee shall decide no later than the 41st day before the election whether the election will be held by postal vote or as a ballot box election. If the election is to be held by postal vote, this must be announced at the latest on the 35th day before the election.

(2) If no nominations are submitted or approved or if the number of approved candidates does not exceed the number of members of the advisory board to be elected, the election shall not take place (§ 56 Para. 3 Sentence 1 GemO). This must be announced at the latest on the 12th day before the election.

§ Section 8
Election period

If the election is held by postal vote, the election committee determines the date by which the election letters must be received by the city administration at the latest.

If the election is not conducted entirely by postal vote, the election committee shall determine the voting time on election day no later than the 12th day before the election. This decision is announced at the latest on the 6th day before the election (election announcement on election time, polling station and voting).

§ 9
Election proposals

(1) An election proposal within the meaning of these Articles of Association is any candidate proposed for election.

(2) The Chief Electoral Officer shall call for the submission of nominations by public announcement at the latest on the 69th day before the election. In doing so, he shall point out that the nominations must be submitted to him or the municipal administration by 6 p.m. on the 48th day before the election at the latest.

(3) Any person entitled to vote may submit one or more nominations up to one and a half times the number of members of the Advisory Board for Migration and Integration to be elected; they may also nominate themselves.

Within this framework, clubs, associations or other organizations and political parties and voter groups based in the electoral area may also submit election proposals. Only nominations with the written consent of the candidate are valid. The nomination must also be signed by the nominator. The nominator and the candidate (surname, first name and address) must be clearly identified in the nomination and further details added if these are necessary for identification.

(4) Section 16 (2) to (5) KWG shall not apply.

(5) On the 12th day before the election at the latest, the Chief Electoral Officer shall publish the approved nominations in alphabetical order, stating the surname, first name and place of residence with zip code, in the cases of paragraph 3 sentence 1 adding the designation "individual candidate", in the cases of paragraph 3 sentence 2 adding the name of the proposing organization. § Section 7 (2) remains unaffected.

§ Section 10
Electoral area, polling districts, electoral roll, voter notifications

(1) The electoral area is the city area.

(2) The Chief Electoral Officer shall form constituencies to the extent necessary.

(3) The Chief Electoral Officer shall arrange for a list of eligible voters (electoral roll) to be drawn up for the municipal area and, if applicable, for the respective polling district.

All foreign and stateless residents as well as those who have acquired German citizenship through naturalization or in accordance with Section 4 (3) of the Citizenship Act (Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz) must be included in the electoral roll ex officio, provided they have reached the age of 16 on the day of the election and meet the requirements of Section 1 (1) Nos. 2 and 3 of the Local Elections Act (Kommunalwahlgesetz).

The announcement on the inspection of the electoral roll is made by the 24th day before the election.

Those entitled to vote who are not automatically or ex officio included in the electoral roll include residents who have acquired German citizenship

a) as a late repatriate or a member of their family in accordance with Section 7 of the Citizenship Act or
b) in accordance with Section 4 (1) in conjunction with (4) of the Citizenship Act and one parent is a foreigner or late repatriate or a member of their family in accordance with Section 7 of the Citizenship Act

insofar as they have reached the age of 16 on the day of the election and fulfill the requirements of Section 1 (1) Nos. 2 and 3 of the Local Elections Act.

This group of people, as well as those entitled to vote who are exempt from the obligation to register, can apply to be entered in the electoral roll. The relevant public announcement will be made at the latest on the 62nd day before the election.

The voters' register is to be updated in accordance with § 56 Para. 2 Sentence 2 GemO and closed on the second day before the election at 6 p.m.. Eligible voters may submit applications for entry in the voters' register up to this time; this also applies to eligible voters who are exempt from the obligation to register.

(4) If the advisory board election is conducted entirely by postal vote, those entitled to vote shall receive the ballot paper, a ballot paper, an explanation of how to vote by post and an envelope addressed to the electoral officer no earlier than on the 34th day before the election. The polling card must be signed by the person entitled to vote, stating that they have voted themselves. If postal voters have used the services of an assistant, these assistants must declare on oath that they have completed the ballot paper in accordance with the wishes of the postal voters.

(5) If the advisory board election is held by means of a ballot box election, those entitled to vote must be notified at the latest on the 21st day before the election. Polling cards and postal voting documents (paragraph 4) are to be issued on application from the 34th day before the election at the earliest.

§ Section 11
Conduct of the election

(1) The election shall be conducted in accordance with the principles of majority voting.

(2) Anyone who is entered in the electoral roll or presents a polling card issued to him/her may participate in the election. Anyone who has a polling card may only participate in the election by postal vote.

(3) The ballot papers shall contain the approved nominations in alphabetical order, stating the surname and first name and, in the cases of Section 9 (3) sentence 2, the name of the nominee, and in the cases of Section 9 (3) sentence 1, the addition "individual candidate".

§ Section 12
Determination of the election result

(1) The electoral board or the postal ballot board counts the votes and determines the election result for its constituency. The activities of the electoral board or the postal ballot board shall be documented in minutes.

(2) The election committee shall determine the election result.

(3) The election officer shall notify those elected and ask them to declare within one week whether they accept the election. In doing so, the election officer shall point out that the election is deemed to have been accepted if the elected person does not submit a written statement to the election officer within this period.

(4) If an elected person declines the election or resigns from the Advisory Board, the election officer shall appoint a replacement. The next person not yet appointed with the highest number of votes shall be appointed. The election officer is responsible for determining the replacement.

(5) The election results shall be made public.

Section 3 - Final provisions

§ Section 13
Supplementary application of the provisions of the Local Elections Act and the Local Elections Code

The provisions of Part One of the Local Elections Act (KWG) and Part One of the Local Elections Code (KWO) shall apply mutatis mutandis.

§ 14
Entry into force

The statutes shall enter into force on the day following their public announcement. At the same time, the bylaws of the City of Idar-Oberstein on the election of the Advisory Board for Migration and Integration of the City of Idar-Oberstein dated 15.08.2019 are repealed.

Idar-Oberstein, 28.08.2024
Idar-Oberstein city administration
Frühauf
Lord Mayor

Note:
Statutes that have come about in violation of procedural or formal regulations of the municipal code are deemed to have been validly established from the outset one year after publication if the legal violation has not been asserted in writing to the Idar-Oberstein municipal administration, Georg-Maus-Str. 1-2, 55743 Idar-Oberstein, within one year of the public publication of the statutes, stating the facts on which the violation is based (Section 24 (6) GemO).