Following the initial round of municipal elections in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, run-off elections were held in numerous municipalities two weeks ago, producing a series of noteworthy results.
In Dortmund, the third-largest city in the country, Alexander Kalouti of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) secured victory, marking the first time since 1946 a CDU candidate has held the mayoral office. Kalouti garnered approximately 53% of the vote, compared to 47% for the incumbent, Thomas Westphal of the Social Democratic Party (SPD).
Cologne has elected Torsten Burmester of the SPD as its new mayor. With almost all votes tallied, Burmester achieved a clear lead with roughly 54% of the vote over Berivan Aymaz of the Green Party. The previous incumbent, Henriette Reker, did not seek re-election.
In Düsseldorf, incumbent Mayor Stephan Keller of the CDU maintained his position with a decisive victory, claiming approximately 60% of the vote against his challenger, Clara Gerlach of the Green Party.
Thomas Markus Kufen of the CDU will continue as the mayor of Essen, securing roughly 57% of the vote against Julia Klewin of the SPD.
Duisburg, the largest North Rhine-Westphalia city holding a run-off election involving the Alternative for Germany (AfD), saw a resounding victory for the incumbent, Sören Link of the SPD, who received approximately 79% of the vote. AfD candidate Carsten Groß received roughly 21%, a similar result to the initial round.
In Bochum, where incumbent Thomas Eiskirch of the SPD did not run for re-election, Jörg Lukat, supported by the SPD and Green parties, was elected with approximately 65% of the vote, besting Andreas Bracke of the CDU.
Wuppertal has elected Miriam Scherff of the SPD as its new mayor, with a significant margin – she received approximately 75% of the vote, compared to 25% for Matthias Nocke of the CDU. Scherff is notably just 36 years old.
Bielefeld witnessed a change in leadership, with Christiana Bauer of the CDU elected with approximately 52% of the vote against Ingo Nürnberger of the SPD, ending 16 years of SPD governance.
Katja Dörner, the previous Green Party mayor of Bonn, has been defeated by Guido Déus of the CDU, who secured roughly 54% of the vote.
Münster, known for its strong Green presence in the city council, has elected Tilman Fuchs of the Green Party as its new mayor with roughly 58% of the vote. This marks the first time a Green Party candidate has held the mayoral office.
In Gelsenkirchen, where the AfD also progressed to the run-off election, their candidate, Norbert Emmerich, was unsuccessful. Andrea Henze of the SPD won with approximately 67% of the vote, a modest increase over his performance in the initial round.