With an eye to a close race in a pivotal state election in North Rhine-Westphalia on May 9, the German government has delayed making a decision over whether to take in detainees from Guantanamo until after the May 9 vote, government sources told SPIEGEL.

So far, the German states that have conservative Christian Democrat governors have refused to participate in the taking in of inmates from the controversial American prison camp. It is unlikely that position would change before the state election.

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière of the Christian Democratic Union has so far avoided directing any official requests at his colleagues at the state level, and discussions with the Americans have also been delayed.

Interior Minister Hopes for Decision Before May 27

Several states headed by center-left Social Democrats, such as Brandenburg in the east, have already signalled that they could support taking in Guantanamo prisoners, but only if at least one interior minister from a state led by the conservatives agrees to a deal. At the very latest, De Maiziere wants to have the divisive issue cleared up in time for a meeting of the federal and state interior ministers slated for May 27.

In March, a German delegation visited three detainees in Guantanamo to personally interview them . Ohmed Ahmed Mohammed al Shurfa of Jordon, Mahmud Salim al Ali of Syria and Mohammed Tahamuttan, a Palestinian, have been arranged to be released by the US because the government doesn't have the evidence it would need to prosecute them. Officials in Berlin have also vetted the men and found that there is no reason to think they would represent a threat.