The municipal council of the East Frisian island of Wangerooge has voted to vote Mayor Marcel Fangohr (independent) out of office. At a special public meeting of the ten-strong municipal council, eight council members voted for such a voting procedure under the Lower Saxony Municipal Constitution Act, one council member voted against it, as a spokeswoman for the island community said early Friday evening. Three-fourths of all members had to vote for the resolution to pass. The mayor, who is also a member of the municipal council, was therefore not allowed to take part in the vote.
Exactly how things will continue is still open. Because Fangohr had left open before the vote how he would deal with such a vote. According to the law, a deselection procedure will now follow within four months, in which the voters will decide on Wangerooge – unless the mayor voluntarily resigns from office beforehand. A decision on this must be made within a week of the Council decision.
As the “Nordwest-Zeitung” reported on Friday evening, Fangohr explained that he wanted to “retrospect himself” over the weekend. By next Thursday at the latest, the head of the town hall wants to explain whether he is making his office available or whether he is going to vote out. Fangohr has been mayor of the North Sea island, which has around 1,200 inhabitants, since 2018. His term of office runs until 2026.
The factions in the council called a lack of trust between the council and the head of the town hall as the reason for the desired deselection. Two weeks ago, the councilors announced that the motion to vote out “expressly does not constitute a disciplinary measure” against the mayor. However, the request for voting out reflected the assessment of the council that the mayor no longer had the necessary trust of the population, it said.
In another joint statement on Friday evening, the council factions thanked Fangohr “for dealing with the situation”. But they also emphasized that there should be no standstill on the island. “We are aware that difficult times are ahead of us, as there are many issues that need to be decided – and all this against the background of a steadily growing shortage of skilled workers, which is also hitting our island with full force and will present us with even greater tasks in the future “The council factions announced.
Plans for a new hotel with several hundred beds had recently caused controversy on the island. In a referendum last year, a majority of the islanders spoke out against the sale of community property.
Municipal Council of the island of Wangerooge Municipal Constitution Act Section 82 deselection of the main administration official Invitation to the special council meeting NWZ report
