According to the preliminary results announced by the state election authority late Sunday evening, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) has lost in terms of approval in the Hamburg municipal election, but remains the clear strongest force in the city. The SPD received 33.5 percent of the vote, a decrease of 5.7 percentage points compared to the previous election.
The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has made a significant gain, increasing its share of the vote by 8.6 percentage points to 19.8 percent, making it the second-strongest force in Hamburg. The Greens, who previously held the second position, have lost 5.7 percentage points and now receive 18.5 percent of the vote. The Left Party has gained 2.1 percentage points, receiving 11.2 percent of the vote, while the Alternative for Germany (AfD) has improved by 2.2 percentage points, but remains weaker than predicted in all polls, with 7.5 percent of the vote. The Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the Bürgerrechte sichert – Wahlen (BSW) do not play a significant role in the Hamburg election and even trail behind Volt, which received 3.3 percent of the vote.
The new city council has 121 seats, with the SPD, CDU, Greens, Left Party and AfD receiving 45, 26, 25, 15 and 10 seats, respectively. The voter turnout was 67.7 percent, with 43.9 percent of voters casting absentee ballots.