BONN. The 177 polling stations in the Bonn city area will be open this Sunday from 8am to 6pm. Almost 230,000 people who are eligible to vote and have their primary residence in Bonn are called upon to elect the new state parliament for North-Rhine Westphalia. Eligible voters are those with German citizenship who are at least 18 years old on election day.

The voters will have received election documents in the post containing the address of the respective polling station to attend. Here they will be given a ballot paper and can cast two votes. The first vote elects a direct candidate. The candidate with the most votes will be directly elected to the state parliament (Landtag) in Düsseldorf. The second vote is for the parties and ultimately will decide on the proportion of their representation in parliament. For this the parties draw up lists of candidates. Some direct candidates from Bonn have a good chance of entering state parliament, even if they miss out on the direct entry - first and foremost NRW Family Minister Joachim Stamp, who is the frontrunner in the FDP candidate list.

Bonn is divided into two constituencies. The constituency Bonn I (number 30) is North Bonn and Beuel, and constituency Bonn II (number 31) is South Bonn and the districts of Bad Godesberg and Hardtberg. Ten candidates are running in each constituency.

The candidates in constituency Bonn I are: Guido Déus (CDU), who was directly elected in 2017, Magdalena Möhlenkamp (SPD), Franziska Müller-Rech (FDP), Hans Neuhoff (AfD), Tim Achtermeyer (Greens), Hanno von Raußendorf (Linke), Fenja Franz (Partei), Roger Stamm (MLPD), Arno Poltrock-Herder (Basis) and Fabio Sánchez Copono (Volt).

In constituency Bonn II the candidates are: Christos Katzidis (CDU), who was directly elected in 2017, Gabriel Kunze (SPD), Joachim Stamp (FDP), Sascha Ulbrich (AfD), Julia Höller (Greens), Julia Schenkel (Linke), Dominique Meyer (Partei), Dirk Gintzel (Basis), Jan Wirths (Humanists) and Thomas Rauch (Volt).

For the second vote, Bonn residents can choose one of 29 parties.

(Original text: Philipp Königs)

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SIEBENGEBIRGE. Motorists on the B42 need have a great deal of patience this weekend. The Drachenbrücke is temporarily closed between Königswinter and Bad Honnef due to works on the concrete, forcing drivers to take alternative routes. On Saturday morning congestion had already built up on the B42 and the surrounding diversion routes as soon as the bridge was closed off. The cars were also bumper to bumper by the morning in the Old Town in Königswinter.

The situation at the weekend is unlikely to improve, with the weather set to be perfect for days out. In addition, Bad Honnef is hosting a public walking event on Sunday called ‘7 auf einen Streich’. Organisers highlighted early on that travelling to the event by bus or train would be much better than coming by car.

The Drachenbrücke will be closed until Monday morning at the start of rush hour. The closure was required to allow for the concrete to set. Straßen NRW, the state agency responsible for the works, said that the traffic would cause too many vibrations

(Original text: Claudia Sülzen)

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BONN. The city authorities in Bonn are warning about fake checks on sewer connections and wastewater sampling. Imposters appear to be out and about in the city claiming to have been commissioned by the city authorities to inspect sewer connections or take samples of wastewater. The Civil Engineering Office has received reports of such events in the past few days.

The City says that these people have not been commissioned to carry out checks. Homeowners are not obliged to have their sewage connections checked for leaks. The city authorities advise turning away such requests and contacting the police

(Original text: buj)

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BONN. Staff at the Department for the Environment and Urban Greenery have started planting summer flowers in the city's flowerbeds. They are putting a total of around 44,000 plants in the ground, according to the city administration department. The first plants were destined for the Rheinaue, where this week the rondels at the main entrance, the large flower meadow and various other beds in the park have been planted. More flowers for the rest of the city will be delivered from Tuesday, 17 May, including for the Brassertufer among other places. In Bad Godesberg on Kurfürstenallee and in the city centre, some tubs have already been planted with perennials. According to the city administration department, the flowers cost around 61,500 euros.

(Original text: buj)

(Translations: Caroline Kusch)