Following a controversial incident involving a swastika drawn on a ballot paper during a parliamentary vote, Daniel Born, Vice-President of the Baden-Württemberg state parliament, has resigned from his position. The Social Democratic Party (SPD) confirmed his departure on Friday, adding that he has also resigned from the party’s parliamentary group.
The resignation follows a vote on Thursday concerning the election of a Chief Executive for the Upper Rhine region, during which AfD representative Bernhard Eisenhut was a candidate. The incident prompted Eisenhut to immediately file a criminal complaint against unknown parties, citing charges including the use of unconstitutional symbols, defamation, coercion, slander and intimidation of elected officials.
Andreas Stoch, parliamentary group leader for the SPD, welcomed Born’s decision, stating that a serious error had been committed and that the parliament’s reputation had suffered. He characterized the resignation as “consistent and correct”. The circumstances surrounding the ballot paper incident are currently under review.