Aachen (Germany): The Christian Democratic Union candidate hoping to become Germany's next Chancellor called Sunday's election one that would decide the country's future. Armin Laschet spoke after voting in Aachen.
The center-right candidate's votes were visible as he put his ballot paper into the ballot box, something that is supposed to be a no-go under German election law. Election rules state that ballot papers should be folded in such a way that it's not possible to see how the person voted.
It wasn't immediately clear whether election officials in Laschet's constituency in Aachen had noticed that his paper was folded wrongly on Sunday, a moment that was caught by cameras, or whether the faux pas would have any consequences.
Germany’s election authority, however, made clear that center-right chancellor candidate Armin Laschet’s votes will be valid although they could be seen Sunday as he put his ballot paper into the ballot box.
Without explicitly naming Laschet, the election authority tweeted that “a nationally known politician voted for his own party, as expected.” It said that couldn’t be seen as an attempt to influence voters.
It said if the ballot paper is folded wrongly, election officials are supposed to issue a new ballot paper. But if the wrongly folded ballot gets into the ballot box, it can no longer be screened out and is valid. Laschet’s paper went into the ballot box.
Laschet is the candidate of outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel's Union bloc to succeed Germany's longtime leader.
Polls show his party neck-and-neck with the center-left Social Democrats after a bumpy campaign.
Under Germany's complex electoral system, every voter gets two votes -- one for a directly elected lawmaker and the other for a party list.
AP
