Lukas Alder, a political newcomer from Eggersriet, is running for the Council of States alongside Esther Friedli and Barbara Gysi in the second round of elections on April 30th. The State Chancellery in St. Gallen has received three nominations for the vacant seat of Paul Rechsteiner, all of which have been checked and found to be valid. The candidates are Alder Lukas, Friedli Esther, and Gysi Barbara. The youngest candidate and only man is Lukas Alder, born in 1986, and is a trustee, civil protection officer, security officer, garbage collector, and production worker by profession. The State Chancellery examines all nominations, and at least 15 supporter signatures are required from people who live in the Canton of St. Gallen and are entitled to vote for the candidacy to be valid. The candidate with the highest number of votes will be elected in the relative more system.
successor to Paul Rechsteiner
Lukas Alder stirs up the women’s election campaign: political newcomer from Eggersriet is running for the Council of States alongside Esther Friedli and Barbara Gysi
For the second Council of States elections on April 30, three valid nominations have been submitted to the State Chancellery in St.Gallen. In addition to Esther Friedli (SVP) and Barbara Gysi (SP), the young non-party Lukas Alder from Eggersriet is also standing for election.
SP National Councilor Barbara Gysi (left) in conversation with SVP National Councilor Esther Friedli after the first ballot.
By the end of the period on Wednesday, March 22, 5 p.m., the State Chancellery had received three nominations for the vacant seat of Paul Rechsteiner (SP), a member of the St.Gallen Council of States for many years. All nominations were checked and found to be valid. This is what the State Chancellery writes in its media release on Wednesday. The following people stand for election:
- Alder Lukas, Eggersriet, independent
- Friedli Esther, Ebnat-Kappel, SVP
- Gysi Barbara, Wil, SP
The second round of the by-election will take place on April 30, 2023. The relative more applies. This means that the candidate with the highest number of votes is elected.
The youngest and the only man
Lukas Alder is the youngest and the only male candidate of the three candidates. According to Website of the State Chancellery of the Canton of St.Gallen, he was born in 1986 and is a trustee, civil protection officer, security officer, garbage collector and production worker by profession.
What Alder’s motives are or when his candidacy arrived remains uncertain for the time being. According to Sebastian Fust, deputy head of the service for political rights at the St.Gallen State Chancellery, he is not allowed to release any further information on the nomination process for reasons of privacy protection.
The State Chancellery examines all nominations. What criteria must be met for a nomination to be considered valid? In principle, every person entitled to vote in the canton of St.Gallen can run for the Council of States, Fust notes. “In order for the candidacy to be valid, at least 15 supporter signatures are required from people who also live in the canton of St.Gallen and are entitled to vote,” he adds. This was apparently the case with surprise candidate Alder.
As the nomination process for the vacant seat of Paul Rechsteiner comes to a close, three candidates have emerged as viable options. Esther Friedli (SVP), Barbara Gysi (SP) and a surprise addition, Lukas Alder from Eggersriet, have all been approved as valid nominations. While Friedli and Gysi are established political figures, Alder is a young and relatively unknown newcomer. The State Chancellery has not released any information on Alder’s motives for running or when his candidacy arrived, but it appears that he has met all the required criteria to be a valid candidate. The second round of the by-election is set to take place on April 30, with the candidate with the highest number of votes being elected. For now, all eyes will be on these three candidates as they work tirelessly to secure their place in the Council of States.