For the first time, an AfD candidate has won a mayoral election in Germany. Tim Lochner prevailed in the second round of voting on Sunday in Pirna, Saxony.
The AfD provides a mayor for the first time in Germany. In the election of the new city leader in Pirna, Saxony, on Sunday, according to the preliminary results, the AfD candidate Tim Lochner prevailed against two competitors in the second round. Lochner received 38.54 percent of the votes and thus the necessary simple majority. Behind them are Kathrin Dollinger-Knuth (CDU) with around 31.4 percent and the independent Ralf Thiele, who entered the race for the Free Voters, with around 30.1 percent. The 53-year-old Lochner is independent, but ran for the AfD. He is a member of the AfD parliamentary group in the city council.
Lochner runs a carpentry shop. He already ran in the mayoral election in 2017, but clearly failed against the previous incumbent Klaus-Peter Hanke (independent), who did not run again in the current election for reasons of age. Pirna is located southeast of Dresden on the edge of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. The city is best known for its almost original old town and its proximity to the popular tourist area of Saxon Switzerland.
Candidates from the Free Voters and CDU are defeated by AfD candidate Tim Lochner
In the first round of voting on November 26th in the city of 40,000 inhabitants, none of the five candidates achieved the required absolute majority, which is why a second round of voting was necessary. Lochner received almost 33 percent in the first round, making him the most votes. Ralf Thiele from the Free Voters came second with around 23 percent, while the CDU candidate Kathrin Dollinger-Knuth was in third place with around 20 percent.
Two defeated candidates, the individual candidate André Liebscher and the Social Democrat Ralf Wätzig, who was supported by the SPD and the Greens, decided not to run again in favor of the CDU candidate. The Left also supported Dollinger-Knuth in the second ballot. The city administration reported voter turnout at 53.8 percent. In the first round of voting it was comparatively weak at 50.4 percent.
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From euro opponents to the case for the Office for the Protection of the Constitution: How the AfD has become more and more radical for years
Before Pirna, AfD candidates had already won two important local political offices in Germany. In June, the AfD won a district election for the first time – with Robert Sesselmann in the Sonneberg district in Thuringia. In August of this year, Hannes Loth was elected as the country’s first mayor of a German municipality – in Raguhn-Jeßnitz (Saxony-Anhalt).
AfD in Saxony classified as definitely right-wing extremist
Last week, the Saxon Office for the Protection of the Constitution classified the AfD in the Free State as definitely right-wing extremist. After Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt, the Saxon AfD is already the third state association with such a classification.
The classification means that the Office for the Protection of the Constitution can use secret service resources without restrictions to obtain information about extremist activities of the regional association.
Note: This article has been updated several times.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
