The saga continues to unfold. It appears the council may have to vote again on whether to continue merger talks with the Nordstad municipalities, after a new complaint was submitted to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
According to the Luxemburger Wort on Saturday, the ministry was contacted following the council vote on 23 April, when a majority decided not to proceed with further exploratory talks.
Supporters of the merger criticised the decision, arguing that it disregarded the outcome of the referendum held at the end of March.
The letter to Home Affairs Minister Léon Gloden criticises the wording used by Mayor Patrick Mergen before the vote. According to the Luxemburger Wort, the mayor asked councillors to vote on whether they were in favour of reversing the council’s decision from 23 October 2024 – wording which reportedly caused confusion among members. Some councillors are said to have voted incorrectly as a result.
The council is also accused of breaching municipal law by failing to publish the agenda of the April meeting in the “Reider”, the council noticeboard.
The matter is now once again in the hands of Minister Gloden, who had previously annulled an earlier Bettendorf council vote due to procedural irregularities.
