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Integration

Together for a

successful integration

successful integration

 |  Social & Education  |  Social facilities  |  Integration  | 

Integration Council

The Integration Council

Bocholt has elected the new integration council

Election result of the 2025 Integration Council election as a bar chart

© stadt bocholt

Bocholt elected the new Integration Council on 14 September 2025. The results can be found here: https://wahlen.citeq.de/20250914i/05554008/praesentation/index.html

Juan Lopez Casanava, Ivica Mazar, Gül Balci, Carmelo Nairi, Selda Koldamca and Donik Krasniqi from the European list, Abdulkadir Kis, Gültekin Izgi and Akan Üstüngör from the Bocholt list, individual candidate Carsten Brinks, as well as Ataf Chaudhry from Zusammen aktiv and Khaled Aidy from the "Zusammenhalt" list were elected.

Background information on the integration council election

When is the Integration Council elected?

Like the elections to the city council , elections to the Integration Council take place every five years. The current election took place on 14 September 2025, at the same time as the municipal elections.


How, when and where can I vote?

Information on "How", "When" and "Where" for the integration council election

  • Dates
    • 3 August 2025: Creation of the electoral roll
    • By 24 August 2025: Dispatch of the election notifications
    • 25 - 29 August 2025: Opportunity to inspect the electoral roll
    • 24 August - 2 September 2025: Application for entry in the electoral roll
  • Voters' register

    The voters' register will be created on 3 August 2025 and kept electronically. All persons with a foreign nationality will be automatically entered in the electoral roll. Naturalised Germans are not automatically registered, so it is necessary to register on the electoral roll if they wish to vote. The relevant form is available     here . However, before submitting the application, please wait until 24 August 2025 and, if you have not received an election notification, submit the application for entry in the electoral roll by 2 September.

  • Election notifications

    Election notifications will be issued on the basis of the electoral roll and will be delivered by 24 August.
    The electoral roll is available for inspection at the electoral office from 25 - 29 August to give eligible voters the opportunity to check their entry in the electoral roll.

  • Postal voting

    The electoral office will start "postal voting" around mid-August at the electoral office on the premises of the Mariengymnasium on Schleusenwall.
    After registering in the electoral roll, you can vote directly on site at the electoral office, or alternatively you can apply for a postal vote before election day and vote at home in peace and quiet. All you have to do is request the postal voting documents, which can also be done online, or collect them from the electoral office. Of course, once you have been entered on the electoral roll, you also have the option of casting your vote(s) at your polling station on election day itself, 14 September 2025.

Who can I vote for?
ir_sample_ballot_2025

© Stadt Bocholt

On 10 July 2025, the Election Committee of the City Council of Bocholt decided to approve a total of five election proposals for the Integration Council elections on 14 September 2025, four lists and one individual candidate. There are many new faces, and we have highlighted in bold the people with an international family history who are already represented on the Integration Council.

  1. European list with Juan Lopez Casanava, Ivica Mazar, Gül Balci, Carmelo Nairi, Selda Koldamca, Donik Krasniqi, Redouane Besbassi, Ebtessam Sawiros, Anosh Moradi, Adnan Ali, Dimitrios Karamoussanlis, Irina Fendel, Juliana Berger, Anastasiya Mironava, Teuta Dervishi, Sefa Kormaz, Apanoup Girgis, Miguel Benitez and Khalil Mounir
  2. Bocholt list with Abdulkadir Kis, Gültekin Izgi, Akan Üstüngör, Zeyneb Mohammady, Bolat Cura, Selahaddin Öztemiz, Serkan Gürbüz, Nazim Cinar and Erman Elmacicegi
  3. Active Together list with Ataf Chaudhry, Rosina Giorgio, Karina Can, Lukas Özdemir, Muhammad Aslam and Ermias Giorgio
  4. Cohesion list with Khaled Aidy (deputy: Mohammad Hammoud) and Al Mahdi Al Mhimd (deputy: Ammar Saler)
  5. Individual candidate: Carsten Brinks

Form "Entry in the dialling directory"

As a naturalised person with an international family history, you can use this form to apply for entry in the electoral register if you have not received an election notification for the integration council election by 24 August. Please wait until 24 August 2025 and, if you have not received an election notification, apply for entry in the electoral register by 2 September.

Application form

What is the composition of the Integration Council?

The Integration Council is made up of twelve directly elected representatives of people with an international family history from Bocholt as well as six city councillors. All 18 members have voting rights on the Integration Council and elect a chairperson and deputy chairperson from among their number.

Who is on the board of the Integration Council?

Juan Lopez Casanava is in his second term as Chairman. His deputies are currently Ataf Chaudhry, Memet Cinar and Abdulkadir Kis.

The Integration Council would like to

This is the Integration Council of the city of Bocholt

© Stadt Bocholt

The members of the municipal integration council
  • to further promote and advance the peaceful and fruitful coexistence of different cultures in Bocholt.
  • to form a forum for exchange and consultation with committed associations, institutions, companies, interest groups, citizens and the public administration.
Guiding principles

The Integration Council is committed to ensuring that colourful diversity in Bocholt is recognised by the city and its citizens as a matter of course. In the long term, it should be perceived by the population as a matter of course that all people in this city respect and recognise each other in their diversity. They do not have to explain or justify their uniqueness; they are not seen as (cultural) strangers, but as members of a community, as Bocholters.

Different ways and styles of life, provided they conform to the constitution, are perceived as an enrichment of living together. In order to put these ideas on a broad basis in Bocholt, the Integration Council supports campaigns and events in this sense.

The Integration Council considers it necessary to guarantee access to important resources such as education, training, work, culture, leisure and health for all Bocholt residents with an international family history. Likewise, participation in the spatial and social organisation of the city should be possible for everyone, thus creating a common urban culture that does not draw artificial boundaries between people from different regions of the world and does not construct ethnically homogeneous groups. It recognises that people's affiliations are diverse and overlap with others.

"Let's join forces in the area of integration work and welcome all new citizens together with the statement Bocholt for all - Welcome"
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A career with the city of Bocholt?

Discover your career opportunities at #teambocholt! You can find current job and training opportunities on our topic page. Take your career to the next level - and apply now!

To the topic page

Series: We in the IR!

We introduce the members of the Integration Council here at irregular intervals. We began the series in 2019 in the previous legislative period with Juan Lopez Casanava, Chairman of the Integration Council of the City of Bocholt.

2022-06-09_Ataf-Javed-Chaudhry-001

Ataf Chaudhry
Ivan MIhalj is a deputy member of the Integration Council of the City of Bocholt - Photo: Bruno Wansing

Ivan Mihalj
Memet Cinar is a member of the integration council of the city of Bocholt and one of the three deputy chairmen - Photo: Bruno Wansing

Memet Cinar
Sandro Dragone

Sandro Dragone
José Abrantes Luís is a member of the Integration Council of the City of Bocholt - Photo: Bruno Wansing

José Abrantes Luís
Juan Lopez Casanava

Juan Lopez Casanava
Abdulkadir Kis

Abdulkadir Kis
Dr Dimitrios Macheras is the second vice-chairman of the Integration Council of the City of Bocholt. Bruno Wansing from the mayor's office spoke with him as part of the series \

Dr Dimitrios Macheras

Tasks and responsibilities

  • The Integration Council represents the interests of Bocholt's residents with a migration background.
  • The Integration Council addresses their social, educational, professional and economic concerns,
  • The Integration Council discusses ways and means of integration in Bocholt and makes public proposals
Excerpt from Section 27 of the North Rhine-Westphalia municipal code:

"The Integration Council can deal with all matters of the municipality. At the request of the Integration Council, a suggestion or statement from the Integration Council must be submitted to the Council, a district council or a committee. The chairperson of the Integration Council or another member appointed by the Integration Council is authorised to attend the meeting when this matter is being discussed; he or she must be given the floor at the request of the Integration Council. The Integration Council should comment on issues submitted to it by the Council, a committee, a district council or the mayor."

Faces: This is the Integration Council