Editorials
Suspense in Ulm
Salami tactics, Synod-style: new Council elected today
October 27, 2009
"They're just counting the votes from the first round-it's so tense!" Excitement is high in the ladies' washroom at Ulm Congress Centre. The new Council is being elected. Who will make it through in the first round? Speculation runs high, up to the very last minute. The Synod members may be nervous behind the scenes but, out in the hall, a relaxed, cheerful mood reigns. Loud laughter is heard in the plenary as the election assistants are collecting the ballot papers, nearly forgetting those of two voters who have retired to a quiet corner to mark their ballot papers (and yes, even Ulm has voting booths). There's more appreciative laughter when Vice-President Eberl interrupts the break before the results of the famous first round are announced, saying, "In Eastern Europe they used to say elections are decided by the counters, not the voters. Well, we can't let that happen here!"
And now all eyes-including the visitors' gallery, which is filled to bursting-are on the election assistants, as they leave the room with the wooden ballot boxes containing the Synod members' marked ballots. It takes some effort to keep the television cameras from following them. The suspense heightens: the 145 voting members have cast their votes for the seats on the new Council; 21 candidates are standing for election. One member, the Synod President, has already been elected; each voter may therefore tick off 14 names. Successful candidates need a two-thirds majority (that is, 97 votes) to obtain a seat on the Council. Depending on how many people are elected in the first round, each Synod member will be allowed to tick correspondingly fewer names in the second. After three straight rounds of voting, the list of candidates is revised: some candidates may withdraw; new ones may be nominated.
Finally the first break is over. Everyone looks to Presidium member Elke König who will announce the results. Rather than an envelope, she's holding a simple piece of paper; the hall is dead silent. During the next few minutes, König reads out a list of names and numbers. And then comes the number. One hundred and three. Sensational-103 votes for Margot Kässmann! No other candidate achieved a two-thirds majority. Has a result ever been more decisive?
Straightaway, cameras start to flash. The Synod erupts into a standing ovation. The other names have hardly been read out, but applause breaks out once again. People congratulate Kässmann, the Bishop of Hanover, shaking her hand and embracing her, as she dries her eyes and nods in acknowledgement.
Kässmann is not the last person elected today: Ulm is in for a long day. Ballot papers are distributed and conscientiously filled in; the breaks between the rounds are meticulously observed. The constitution needs an amendment; a theme must be chosen for the next Synod. The minutes tick by slowly, the discussions on issues are interrupted again and again with announcements of further election results, and the relief is palpable as each new Council member is elected. And everybody is happy to be able to get up and applaud each time. The one thing that can be said is that this Synod is on the move.
Second meeting of the Eleventh Synod of the EKD in Ulm
Council election results