Boris Palmer remains mayor of Tübingen

Created: 2022-10-23Updated: 2022-10-23 7:28 p.m

Tübingen's Mayor Boris Palmer often offends national politicians - critics accuse him of racism, among other things.

© Marijan Murat/dpa

After allegations of racism, Tübingen's polarizing mayor Boris Palmer did not run for the Greens again.

But he also manages re-election as a non-party candidate.

Stuttgart - Boris Palmer has been re-elected mayor of Tübingen.

He prevailed against his competitors with an absolute majority of 52.4 votes, as the city announced on Sunday evening after all polling stations had been counted.

Palmer ran as an independent candidate rather than for the Greens because of trouble with his party.

His competitor Ulrike Baumgärtner (Greens) got 22 percent of the votes, Sofie Geisel (SPD, supported by the FDP) 21.4 percent of the votes.

Around 69,000 Tübingen residents were eligible to vote.

Six candidates were admitted.

Palmer has been mayor for 16 years.

He had declared in advance that he no longer wanted to compete in the second ballot if he was not ahead in the first round.

"If I can't decide this election for myself, the political figure Boris Palmer is at the end," he was quoted as saying by the "Pforzheimer Zeitung".

The 50-year-old's membership of the Greens will be suspended until the end of 2023 due to arguments about breaking taboos and allegations of racism.

dpa