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Chemnitz (dpa / sn) - The election of the mayor of Chemnitz was legal after a decision by the city's administrative court.

A family's lawsuit was rejected by the 5th Chamber, as a court spokesman announced on Friday.

The plaintiffs had complained according to the information that the age limit of 18 years for eligible voters is arbitrary and violates younger people in their human dignity.

In addition, parents could exercise the right to vote for them.

The judges did not follow this line of reasoning without a hearing.

You referred to the Basic Law.

Accordingly, only those who have reached the age of 18 may cast their votes in the Bundestag election.

This should also be observed at the level of the federal states and municipalities - at least there is no obligation to relax this age limit in mayoral elections, the judges decided.

And if parents were to exercise their right to vote on behalf of their children, this would increase the number of parents' votes.

That violates the constitutional principle of equality of choice.

Because of the legal dispute, election winner Sven Schulze (SPD) has not yet been regularly introduced to the office of mayor.

He had clearly won the vote in October in the second ballot with almost 35 percent of the vote in front of his four competitors.

Schulze has been running the official business of Saxony's third largest city since the end of November only as an official administrator.

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The now decided lawsuit is the only one with which the election will be challenged, said a spokesman for the Chemnitz Administrative Court.

The verdict is not yet legally binding.

According to the information, the plaintiffs can apply for an oral hearing or turn to the Higher Administrative Court in Bautzen.

They have a period of one month after delivery of the judgment.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210129-99-220960 / 2