In the case of the referendum on the ultimately failed merger of the Pitztal-Ötztal ski area in Tyrol, three members of the electoral authority accused of abuse of official power were sentenced to suspended prison terms by the Innsbruck Regional Court on Tuesday. The defendants were accused of filling out voting cards for other eligible voters with ‘pro-votes’.
According to the indictment, the three men received permission from seventeen eligible voters to collect voting cards from the community on their behalf. However, the voters never received the voting cards, the Innsbruck Public Prosecutor’s Office accused the suspect. Instead, the defendants allegedly filled out voting cards on their own initiative and voted in favor of the merger.
“Acted in the interests of those entitled to vote”
The three defendants testified separately at the regional court. All three pleaded ‘not guilty in principle’. While the first and second defendants admitted that they had filled out and signed the voting cards themselves, the third defendant denied all allegations. However, the first and second defendants allegedly believed and assured themselves that they were acting in the interests of the respective voters.
In the closing argument the public prosecutor did not accept this. The voting cards clearly state that the signature must be signed by the voters themselves. “Democracy lives on the right to vote,” the prosecutor emphasized. Events like these further weaken the acceptance of democracy.
All three men sentenced to prison
The defendants’ lawyers argued that given the disillusionment with politics, they wanted to motivate as many people as possible to vote. The voters would then have been ‘happy’ if they could vote without any difficulty. However, the third defendant’s lawyer insisted that he had not forged any signatures, but had only taken the voting cards, distributed them and returned them.
All three defendants were ultimately sentenced to prison by the jury. The first and third suspects were given twelve months probation, the second suspect eleven months. In addition, they were sentenced to fines and reimbursement of procedural costs. The rulings were not legally binding for the time being.
The glacier marriage is finally off the table
The referendum on the ‘Pitztal-Ötztal ski area merger’ project ended with a narrow rejection on July 17, 2022. To the question “Should the merger of the Pitztal-Ötztal ski area be realized?”, 353 voters in St. Leonhard voted “No” (50.36 percent) and 348 (49.64 percent) voted “Yes” (turnout: 59 per cent). Immediately afterwards, those responsible for the Pitztaler Glacierbahn declared that they were no longer interested in continuing the project. After the complaint was filed, the community of St. Leonhard im Pitztal once again emphasized that the project would remain cancelled.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
