The district of Märkisch-Oderland will not lodge an appeal against the decision of the Administrative Court of Frankfurt/Oder on the recommendation of the law firm Dombert Rechtsanwälte commissioned by it. In its decision of 9 March 2026 (VG 4 L 160/26), the court declared the cancellation of the mayoral election of the town of Strausberg on 15 February 2026 by the district to be unlawful and the cancellation of the run-off election to be invalid.

The district and Dombert Rechtsanwälte agree that an appeal to the competent OVG Berlin-Brandenburg could possibly be successful due to the special features of the case, but that at the moment it is not a matter of clarifying legal issues that have not been conclusively decided by the courts, but of setting a date for the run-off election in the form of a by-election as quickly as possible. The citizens and the town of Strausberg rightly have an interest in being able to decide on the new full-time mayor without further delay and in compliance with the statutory provisions.

The district administrator will therefore set the date for 29 March 2026 after consultation with the state electoral officer.

The District Administrator will continue to take great care to ensure that the run-off election is conducted properly. Any objections to the election can and will be dealt with in the statutory election review procedure. Any doubts about the impartial conduct of the election should be dispelled by the legal counselling.