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Germans will surprise with their beer, Armenians- electoral fraud (video)

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For the Germans, who perfectly ride a bicycle from the first years of their life, a bicyclist is a bearer of secret information. Marcus Tackenberg, who works at a local newspaper of Osnabruck city of Lower Saxony, says that the locals can easily detect a newcomer, because, as a rule, refugees and tourists ride a bicycle very unskillfully; Germans follow riders drawing zigzags with a smile. But here Germans get angry, when someone, who is unaware of traffic rules, walks on a bicycle route or doesn’t react to signals. Bicycle is a constant means of transportation for majority of Germans; it can be bought at EUR 200-700 on average. hetsaniv Every German city has its clear traffic rules. If streets in Berlin are so wide, that bicycle riders are given a special line, in Hannover there is a constant risk to be hit by a bicycle. Both options can be found in Osnabruck, which is 130 km far from Hannover, but in general thanks to wide streets the routes of bicyclists and pedestrians aren’t crossed, not creating additional tension. Osnabruck is proud of the atmosphere of peace, which was established still 368 years ago, after Thirty Years War (1618-1648), when after the negotiations between Munster’s Catholic and Osnabruck’s Protestant churches the Peace Treaty was signed in historical territory of Westphalia. dah In one of the buildings in Osnabruck, which adds a color to the city, the pictures of the people, who came to an agreement, decorate the walls of a big hall. The City Council also operates here, the new members of which will be elected on September 11. You will not see huge posters presenting the candidates not only in Osnabruck, but also in other communities. But even small posters can cause discontent, if they close traffic signs. pastar Campaign starts sex weeks before the election day. The electronic voting system doesn’t operate in Germany, but you can vote five days before the elections. If you are far from your settlement, you can send the ballot by post. Germans have difficulty in recalling a case of electoral fraud in Germany. The questions about the electoral fraud posed by the participants of “Cross border observations: reliable coverage of local elections in Lower Saxony and Armenia” journalist visit, as well as Armenia’s experience even became a reason for surprise. Of course, theoretically violations aren’t excluded during the count of votes. But Roland Czada, professor at University of Osnabruck, explains that it is difficult to imagine that a representative of Green Party will allow a representative of the Left to rig the votes or vice versa. profesor The voters are also interested so that the deserving party becomes the winner. The social services are regulated at local level, and when the local self-government bodies operate in a normal way, it means a direct impact on the lifestyle. Professor continues explaining why the local elections are important, brings the example of electricity; the consumer pays for it irrespective of its quality, consequently the consumer is interested in quality service. The results of local elections influence federal elections. Not only those, who have German citizenship, but also those, who have the EU citizenship, can take part in the local elections on condition that they have been a resident of the particular settlement at least for three months. Who can be nominated at the elections? “You must be a member of some party, as in other cases the chances to be elected are very low, unless you are a famous singer or a well-known personality, for example-professor,” says Prof. Roland Czada. The latter never forgets his civil duty and takes part in all the elections. “It’s like a hobby,” he says. But it doesn’t relate to the young, who aren’t much interested in elections. terti news The German newspapers aren’t obliged by law to equally cover the campaign of candidates, but Michael Clasen, Head of News Department of ‘Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung’ daily, says that they try to do so, “That is a moral obligation.” Besides, the editorial office developed elections’ coverage ethic guidelines, where it is even noted how many words are given to the candidates during the elections. By the way, it is a clear rule at Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung daily that suicides aren’t covered. There are few publications about Armenia; the readers aren’t particularly interested. But it doesn’t mean that nothing is known about Armenia at the editorial office. Marcus Tackenberg, who is responsible for the printed version of the newspaper, asks Armenian journalists about seizure of police headquarters by “Sasna Dzrer” (Daredevils of Sasoun) armed group. He also has a personal reason for being interested in it; his wife is a Georgian Armenian. Marcus Tackenberg speaks to the Armenian journalists not only about the newspaper, but also presents the city. The external look of the buildings, which have 500 years’ history, but have been neatly preserved, tell nothing about their age, but on entering, you find yourself in Middle Ages at once. During the campaign of local elections turning one part of Osnabruck passable only for pedestrians becomes a topic for dispute. A part of candidates supports the implementation of the project, which supposes traffic ban for cars in that section, the other part is against it. hraparak Those, who visit Osnabruck, definitely take a photo at the house of a famous writer of the 20th century Eric Maria Remarque. Tasting beer in Hausbrauerei Rampendahl restaurant is also a must; the beer is considered one of the best in Germany. Even if construction activities are underway in the neighborhood, tourists find this place to taste a mug of beer. piva1 Karine Asatryan P.S. “Cross-border observations: reliable coverage of local elections in Lower Saxony and Armenia” project was organized by Berlin’s School of Journalism together with “Journalists for Future” Armenian NGO. The project was financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany within the frames of “Strengthening Cooperation with Civil Society in Eastern Partnership States” project.