According to its own information, the Frankfurt SPD has no evidence that the votes cast by postal vote could have been manipulated in the spring local elections.

According to the SPD managing director Sebastian Maier, there have not even been rumors of any form of electoral fraud in the party.

Maier announced this on Monday at the request of the FAZ.

The background is the reporting of the Hessenschau, according to which informants reported to the Hessischer Rundfunk, accusing the SPD candidate at the time, Zafar Khan from Sindlingen, of wanting to buy votes in order to be able to move into the Frankfurt city parliament.

Khan himself could not be reached for comment.

Mechthild Harting

Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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The 38-year-old IT specialist, who is committed to the Ahmadiyya Muslim community and who has meanwhile been the youth leader in the soccer club 1.FC Viktoria Sindlingen, is said to have offered the informants money in order to obtain postal ballot papers from other people.

Khan is said to have offered ten to 20 euros per voting slip, the informants told the broadcaster.

He rejected all allegations to the Hessenschau.

"I know: there is nothing." This can also be seen from the election result, because he was not elected to the city parliament, he is quoted by the broadcaster.

Not entered parliament

Khan was a candidate for the city council at number 49 on the SPD list. By accumulating votes, he moved up to 36th place. Khan justified this jump with his fame in the district. However, he was not elected to the city parliament, only 17 SPD city councilors found a place there. Khan had tried unsuccessfully to move into the Römer in 2015. His attempt to run as a candidate for the Bundestag in the constituency of Bergstrasse had also failed. He grew up in the Odenwald.

Khan, who had been a member of the Frankfurt SPD since 2008, left the party in June. The party leadership is not aware of any reasons for this. The Frankfurt SPD politician Gregor Amann, once a member of the Bundestag and a member of the city parliament for years, who encouraged Zafar Khan to go into politics more than ten years ago, has only now learned of his withdrawal.

The allegations brought against Khan will have no consequences for the Frankfurt local elections.

As announced by the office of the district returning officer, the final result was announced on March 31st.

The city council had determined the validity of the election on April 22, 2021.

An objection to the validity of the election is conceivable, but only within a period of two weeks after the results have been announced.

At that time, however, no objections were received by the election officer.