Elections in Saxony: CDU ahead of district administrators, surprises in mayoral elections

A second ballot is necessary in six districts, as well as in some mayoral elections, including the mayoral election in Dresden. The AfD fell short of its own expectations, but does not want to give up just yet.

The first round of district and mayoral elections is over. New mayors and district administrators were elected in hundreds of communities on Sunday. Around 400 candidates were on the ballot papers for the 185 mayoral elections.

Mayor election in Dresden not yet decided – second ballot on July 10th

One of the more than 20 mayoral elections that have not yet been decided is that in the state capital of Dresden. That is not surprising, according to incumbent Dirk Hilbert, who is running for a second term. In Dresden, a mayor election had never been decided at the first attempt, he said in Dresden in the evening. Especially not with nine candidates like this year. Although Hilbert was able to take the lead with the incumbent bonus, he clearly missed the absolute majority with 32.5 percent.

Green candidate Eva Jähnigen came in second. In order to support them in the second ballot, the candidates from the SPD and the left, Albrecht Pallas and André Schollbach, decided not to run again. It is still unclear how the right-wing camp will line up for the second ballot. AfD MEP Maximilian Krah came in third with 14.2 percent. He now wants to solicit votes from the “lateral thinkers”.

In the run-up to the elections, there had been trouble about the admission of Mayor Dirk Hilbert. Despite errors in the nomination, Hilbert was approved by the state directorate for the June election.

Bang on mayor election in Bautzen

The result of the mayor election in Bautzen caused a big surprise. Here the CDU candidate and challenger to the previous incumbent Alexander Ahrens immediately and clearly prevailed. More than 53 percent of voters voted for the school principal. Ahrens followed the counting of votes in the foyer of the town hall, visibly stunned.

Vogt announced a change of course in city politics in the evening. This includes, among other things, a retreat with the city councilors in order to unite the committee again.

Very clear result in Freiberg

There is also a result in the mayoral election in Freiberg. In the mining town, the incumbent Sven Krüger (single candidate) was able to prevail against the four competitors at the first attempt. 74.1 percent of Freiberg voters gave him his vote. Krüger himself was surprised and overjoyed by this clear result. “For me it was one of the most beautiful days I could experience here in this beautiful city,” said Krüger in the evening.

CDU with district administrators with a good starting position

The three district administrators who ran for re-election also made a breakthrough: Kai Emanuel in the district of North Saxony, Henry Graichen for the district of Leipzig and Michael Geisler for the Saxon Switzerland-Eastern Ore Mountains. All three remain in office with a CDU ticket. In the other six districts, in which the previous district administrators had not returned, the decision will only be made in the second ballot on July 3rd. The CDU has the edge almost everywhere. It’s only different in the district of Mittelsachsen. Here, after the first ballot, the mayor of Augustusburg, Dirk Neubauer, who is running as a single candidate, is leading.

In doing so, Neubauer also thwarted the plans of the AfD, which had hopes of being able to provide the first district administrator in Germany with its candidate. In the district of Görlitz, where the AfD member of parliament Sebastian Wippel wants to become head of the district office, this goal has not yet been given up. “We definitely didn’t fall short of our expectations,” Wippel told MDR SACHSEN. “The masses haven’t been sung yet. We’ll step on the gas again in the next few weeks.”