German Village Elects 29-Year-Old Refugee From Syria As Mayor

By DPA 03 April 2023   |   9:44 am A German village elected a Syrian refugee as its new Mayor on Sunday with an absolute majority of 55.41 per cent of the votes, the municipality announced in the evening. Ryyan Alshebl A German village elected a Syrian refugee as its new Mayor on Sunday with an absolute majority of 55.41 per cent of the votes, the municipality announced in the evening. Ryyan Alshebl, 29, who fled Syria in 2015, stood as a non-party candidate to become Mayor of Ostelsheim in the south-western German state of Baden-Württemberg. In his private life, however, he is a member of the Green Party. He describes his experiences in the election campaign as “mostly positive.” At the age of 21, Alshebl had fled his home town of Sweida in the south of Syria. He has now been working in the administration of nearby Althengstett town hall for seven years. As mayor, Alshebl now plans to move to Ostelsheim in the district of Calw, he said. Alshebl is probably the first Syrian mayor in the south-west of Germany. According to the Association of Municipalities of Baden-Württemberg, there has been no other candidate with Syrian roots for a mayor’s office so far. In the election on Sunday, Alshebl prevailed against the non-party candidates Marco Strauß and Mathias Fey. Latest 2 mins ago Controversial singer, Habeeb Okikiola, known as Portable, has been granted bail. Portable, who was arraigned for assault before a Magistrate’s Court in Ogun state, on Monday morning, was granted bail. The police arrested Portable at the expiration of an ultimatum to submit himself on Friday, March 31, 2023. Ogun State police spokesperson Abimbola Oyeyemi confirmed… 20 mins ago At least three people were shot dead and another eight were wounded during an overnight flare up in drug gang violence in the crime-plagued French port of Marseille, police said Monday. Three separate shooting incidents have increased fears that tit-for-tat violence between rival gangs is spiralling after a series of fatal shootings over the last… 29 mins ago The Federal Government has alerted Nigerians to a fake social media account being paraded as that of the Presidential Transition Council (PTC). Presidential Transition Council is chaired by Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha to manage the transitioning from the current government to the incoming government when Muhammadu Buhari officially hands… 31 mins ago The federal government has been advised to consider new models of norms, values, structures and institutions to ease the challenges facing the country in its nation-building drive. 44 mins ago Scores of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) supporters have taken to the street of Port Harcourt to defend their votes, insisting that the electoral umpire, must remain apolitical and independent.