Over 150 ballot papers are said to have been manipulated in Saxony. The police have now searched an apartment in Dresden and found incriminating material.
After ballot papers were manipulated in the Saxon state election, a search was carried out in Dresden. The State Criminal Police Office and the Dresden Public Prosecutor’s Office announced that a 44-year-old man was being investigated. During the search in the Langebrück district, possible evidence was seized. The investigators did not want to provide any more specific information. However, the suspicion of the crime “became stronger,” according to the authorities. The investigation is being carried out on suspicion of election fraud.
154 ballot papers affected in Saxony
According to the information, a total of 154 postal ballots were manipulated in two constituencies in Dresden-Langebrück in the local elections on June 9th. There were also changes in the state elections on September 1st: A total of 126 ballots were manipulated – 111 in Dresden constituencies, 14 in two electoral districts in Radeberg and one ballot in the Dohna electoral district. In all cases, the manipulations were in favor of the right-wing extremist party Free Saxony.
After the state election
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The authorities did not want to say whether the suspect is an official or a member of this party. They said that the investigation was ongoing. The 44-year-old is currently being investigated, but it cannot be ruled out that other people may be suspected of the crime.
After the manipulation became known, the Free Saxons denied having anything to do with it. The party is classified as a right-wing extremist endeavor by the state’s Office for the Protection of the Constitution. According to the Office, they are a group of neo-Nazis, officials of the former NPD and other members or sympathizers of the scene, organized as a party.
The state election committee also confirmed the final official result of the state election on Friday. Regardless of the manipulated ballot papers that surfaced after the election, the distribution of seats in the state parliament as determined on election night remains the same. The CDU will receive 41 seats in the state parliament, the AfD 40 and the BSW 15. The SPD will receive ten seats, the Greens seven and the Left six. The Free Voters are represented with one mandate.
Source: Stern
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