The election for a new member of Luxembourg’s Council of State took an unexpected turn on Tuesday, as Max Leners, the Luxembourg Socialist Workers’ Party (LSAP) nominee, did not secure the necessary votes for the vacant seat.
In a second round of voting, Georges Kohn was elected as Christophe Schiltz’s successor with 11 votes to six and two blank votes.
Georges Kohn, Vice-President of the Social Security Arbitration Board (CASS) and an expert in social security matters, aligns closely with the second candidate profile sought by the Council of State. Kohn, a 64-year-old lawyer unaffiliated with any political party, may serve in the Council for up to eight years, at which point he would reach the age limit.
The vote is a slap in the face for LSAP candidate Leners, a lawyer and left-wing activist selected by the General Council as his party’s nominee from a pool of three candidates. His nomination was announced just last week.
On Monday, the Green Party (Déi Gréng) raised concerns about the continued lack of gender diversity in the Council of State, noting that the election of another man marks the fifth consecutive appointment of a male member to the council, which currently has only seven female members.
