Local elections NRW: Stab in NRW – struggle for Cologne and Ruhr area cities

In almost 150 municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia, stitch elections around the mayor, mayor and district office are pending. It should be particularly exciting in the city of Cologne as well as in the cities of Duisburg, Gelsenkirchen and Hagen.

State vice president Berivan Aymaz and the SPD politician Torsten Burmester fight for the Mayor’s office in Cologne. In a victory of Aymaz, the only NRW million town would be ruled for the first time by the Greens.

Several AfD candidates in stitch elections

In Duisburg, Gelsenkirchen and Hagen, AfD candidates made it into the second round. It is eagerly awaited whether an AfD politician in NRW can conquer an OB post for the first time. The SPD and CDU had announced that they support each other in the stab elections to prevent AfD politicians on top positions. In the city of Bergheim (Rhein-Erft-Kreis), an AfD applicant also came into the runoff election around the mayor’s office.

Should one of the AfD candidates actually get the executive chair in a town hall, he would not be the first in Germany: In August 2023, Raguhn-Jeßnitz in Saxony-Anhalt was elected to the first mayor nationwide by the AfD. In December 2023, a non -party, but organized by the AfD, prevailed in the mayor election in Pirna in Saxony.

Stab elections are necessary wherever the first round two weeks ago none of the candidates got more than half of the votes. In 21 independent cities nationwide, election duels are available for the mayor positions and in 15 circles around the district offices. In addition, mayors are still elected in more than 100 cities belonging to the district in the second ballot. The polling stations close at 6 p.m.

Greens in several stitch elections

In several cities, politicians from CDU and the Greens meet in the runoff election. In the NRW state capital Düsseldorf, the reigning mayor Stephan Keller (CDU) fights against the Greens politician Clara Gerlach in the second round. Green candidate Tilman Fuchs meets Georg Lunemann (CDU) in Münster. In Bonn and Aachen, the Greens Mayor Katja Dörner and Sibylle Keupen have to face CDU challengers in stabbing.

Who will get the former SPD hearing chamber?

In Dortmund, who once titled SPD politician Herbert Wehner (1906-1990) as the “Heart Chamber of Social Democracy” Ruhr area metropolis, SPD-Office holder Thomas Westphal has to go to the runoff against the CDU candidate Alexander Kalouti. Applicants from the CDU and SPD also compete against each other for the top posts in other town halls such as Essen, Oberhausen and Bochum.

CDU clear election winner of the first round

In the most populous federal state, the CDU in the first ballot on September 14, despite slight declines with 33.3 percent of the votes, clearly remained the strongest force. According to the temporary state result, the AfD almost tripled its share of votes in councils and district days to 14.5 percent. In the nationwide election, she landed in third place behind the SPD, which came to 22.1 percent.

The Greens had to accept considerable losses and won 13.5 percent after 20 percent in the 2020 local elections. The left came to 5.6 percent and the FDP to 3.7 percent.

In the stab elections, all those who were entitled to vote in their municipality in the first ballot two weeks ago. You will not receive a new election notification. However, letters of elections were sent. Even without an election notification or letters of memory, you can choose in the optional room, provided no post -election application was made. A photo ID must be brought with you.

Those who were only 16 years old after the first round of the election on September 14 and thus achieved local election age must not vote. The prerequisites for an election entitlement must already have in the main election.