Bottrop in election fever: Information about the integration committee election!

Bottrop in election fever: Information about the integration committee election!

Important elections are coming up in Bottrop in just a few months: on September 14, 2025, not only the city council will be re-elected, but also the integration committee. This committee is tasked with providing advice on migration and integration issues. As part of this upcoming election, the city of Bottrop is launching an information campaign that will use various events and media engagement to help reach eligible voters and potential candidates. A media conversation with Thomas Schwarzer from the Migration Department and other representatives shows how serious the city of Bottrop is about giving all citizens a voice and promoting political participation. Bottrop.de reports that election proposals can be submitted to the electoral office until July 7th at 6 p.m. These proposals can be submitted by both groups and individuals.

But who can actually vote? To be eligible to vote, people must be at least 18 years old, have lived in Germany for one year and have lived in Bottrop for at least three months. An election proposal must also be signed by ten eligible voters. An important detail: In Bottrop, people with foreign citizenship aged 16 and over are also allowed to take part, provided they have lived in Germany for a year and in Bottrop for at least 16 days. This shows how important the city administration considers the political participation of people with a migration background.

Political participation and integration

Political participation is a central prerequisite for the integration of migrants because it offers the opportunity to actively participate in decision-making processes. In Germany there is a clear distinction between formal and informal political participation. While formal participation, for example through the right to vote, is often linked to German citizenship, many migrants without German citizenship remain excluded. bpb.de informs about the long-term discussions that are taking place about the rights of migrants in German political systems. There are currently around 8.7 million people without German citizenship living in the country, which makes up around 10% of the total population.

The Bottrop city administration has recognized the challenges, especially for people with an international family history who may want to become politically active for the first time. The response to the election proposals from various parties and voter groups so far is described as positive, which shows that there is interest in political participation. However, there are also uncertainties: Until the electoral register is drawn up on August 3rd, it will be unclear how many citizens are actually entitled to vote. Anyone who has not received a voter notification by approximately ten days after this date should report to the election office.

The city administration's information offensive

In order to provide citizens with comprehensive information, the city of Bottrop is running a diverse information campaign. This ranges from social media to digital billboards to posters and flyers. In addition, a QR code will be set up on the homepage to make multilingual information accessible. This means that citizens who may still have difficulties with the German language can obtain the necessary information in their native language. It is hoped that these measures will lead to a high voter turnout in the election for the Integration Committee.

The coming months promise to be exciting and clearly show that something is happening here! The city of Bottrop has a good hand in recognizing that the political participation of migrants makes an important contribution to successful integration.