Press
The AfD has put several candidates into the runoff elections for district administrator and mayor positions in Thuringia. But it is unclear whether that will be enough.
Erfurt – The AfD failed to secure a top office in the first attempt in the district and mayoral elections in Thuringia. The decision will usually be made in run-off elections, in which mainly CDU and AfD candidates compete. In the elections for district councils and city councils, both parties were roughly neck and neck after more than half of the voting districts had been counted. The elections are seen as the first test of the mood for the state election in September. The AfD has been far ahead of the other parties in Thuringia-wide polls for months. Thuringia is currently governed by a red-red-green coalition with Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow (Left).
Overall, nine of the 13 AfD candidates who ran reached the runoff election or were close to doing so according to the latest count, according to data from the state election officer on Sunday. However, the AfD was initially only ahead in the Altenburger Land district in eastern Thuringia. In some cases, its candidates ended up far behind those of the other parties.
CDU forces Erfurt’s SPD mayor into runoff election
The CDU was able to record electoral successes in several cities and thus defend its local strength. In the state capital Erfurt, for example, the CDU man Andreas Horn relegated incumbent Andreas Bausewein (SPD) to second place. Both will now go into the runoff election. In Weimar and Suhl, the CDU candidates achieved clear majorities in the first round of voting and moved into the town halls. In the Weimarer Land district, the CDU candidate missed the absolute majority by 0.2 percentage points.
In several regions, the CDU underwent a generational change. For example, the two longest-serving district administrators in Germany, Werner Henning (Eichsfeld) and Martina Schweinsburg (Greiz), did not stand for re-election due to age reasons.
The AfD struggled in the cities. In Gera, which was the only municipality with an AfD candidate in the runoff election in the 2018 district and mayoral elections, the party missed the second round according to interim results, as did Erfurt and Jena. In almost all districts in which it ran its own candidates, however, it was expected to make it to the next round.
The SPD also had some successes in the elections. SPD candidate Peggy Greiser won in Schmalkalden-Meiningen against her only opponent, Ralf Liebaug from the CDU. In three other districts she came in first, sometimes with a significant lead, or was close to it. She is also in the runoff election in Erfurt.
Neo-Nazi makes it to the runoff
The election result in the southern Thuringian district of Hildburghausen caused a stir. There, the nationally known neo-Nazi Tommy Frenck narrowly made it into the runoff election, leaving the CDU candidate Dirk Lindner behind. Sven Gregor, who ran for the Free Voters of the Hildburghausen district and received 42.4 percent of the votes in the first round, is considered to be a good candidate for the top job in the district administration.
In the elections for district councils and city councils in the independent cities in Thuringia, the CDU and AfD were almost neck and neck after an interim result. After more than half of the voting districts had been counted, the CDU received 27.6 percent on Sunday evening, while the AfD was at 27.3 percent. While the AfD improved by almost ten points compared to 2019, the CDU kept its share of the vote largely stable at this count. The Left, SPD and Greens, who form the state government in Thuringia, suffered losses. In the Sonneberg district, where the AfD appointed its first district administrator in Germany, the party was clearly ahead in the evening.
Around 1.74 million people in Thuringia were called to vote in large-scale local elections on Sunday: 13 of 17 district administrators were up for election, as well as 5 mayors of the independent cities. In addition, district councils, municipal and city councils, as well as honorary and full-time mayors were elected across the board.
Thuringia’s CDU leader Mario Voigt viewed the local elections as a success for the CDU. “The anti-democratic forces have been relegated to their places.” He spoke of very good results and important decisions for the party.
Demonstrations against right-wing extremism
The state chairwoman of the Left Party, Ulrike Grosse-Röthig, was relieved after the counting results that the AfD, led by right-wing extremist Björn Höcke, had no foreseeable chance of conquering a district office or a town hall in an independent city in its first attempt. “Thuringia remains democratic,” she explained. The Left Party is the governing party in Thuringia, but is only sporadically represented at the level of district administrators and mayors.
The voters “today prevented the brown party from seizing power in the first round of district and mayoral elections” and voted for democratic candidates, said Grosse-Röthig.
One day before the election, many people took to the streets throughout Thuringia to demonstrate for a cosmopolitan Thuringia and against right-wing extremism. According to police reports, up to 2,000 people took part in a rally in Erfurt alone on Saturday. Voter turnout was 46.2 percent by 4 p.m.
In polls for the state election, the AfD is currently at 30 percent, despite losses, far ahead of the CDU with around 20 percent and the Left Party of Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow (Left) with 16 percent. Thuringia has been governed by a red-red-green coalition since 2014, but since 2020 it no longer has its own majority in the state parliament. dpa
#breakthrough #AfD #district #elections #Thuringia