Bettendorf held a legally non-binding referendum on Sunday regarding the Nordstad merger negotiations with four other municipalities, namely Diekirch, Ettelbruck, Erpeldange-sur-Sûre, and Schieren, that resulted in a majority voting in favour of Bettendorf’s continued involvement in Nordstad merger negotiations.
The question posed to Bettendorf residents participating in the referendum was the following: “Do you wish for the municipal council to complete the exploratory talks on the Nordstad merger, allowing Bettendorf citizens to express their views via a referendum on the potential merger with Diekirch, Erpeldange-sur-Sûre, Ettelbruck, and Schieren?”
Out of a total of 3,200 residents living in Bettendorf, 1,700 ballot papers were submitted, 400 of which were invalid. 57,4% voted in favour, with 42,6% voting against the proposal. Although the referendum is legally non-binding, it is now up to the municipal council to determine the future of Nordstad merger negotiations in a session to be held on Wednesday, although the agenda for the session only states that the municipal council will take position regarding the referendum results. Importantly, seven out of eleven municipal councilors had already voted at the end of last year in favour of withdrawing from Nordstad merger negotiations.
The referendum was launched by a citizens’ action group Pro Referendum that disagrees with the decision made by the municipal council to withdraw from Nordstad merger negotiations without citizen consultation. Dominique Steiner, one of the members of the citizens’ action group, stated that they would respect the vote made by the municipal council, but warned that disregarding the referendum results will need to be justified to voters.
In this regard, Bettendorf mayor Patrick Mergen explained that the referendum results do not necessarily determine the outcome of Nordstad merger negotiations, as he cannot predict whether the councillors will change course on Wednesday’s session and he has no influence on the outcome as mayor of the municipality.
Patrick Mergen clarifies miscommunication issues in Nordstad merger dispute
Nordstad merger still at ‘full throttle’ despite setbacks
Nordstad committee convenes following Bettendorf’s exit from merger discussions
