In Raguhn-Jeßnitz, AfD politician Hannes Loth was elected the new mayor on Sunday. In the second round of the election, he prevailed against the non-party Nils Naumann. Loth is the first elected full-time AfD mayor in Germany.
AfD politician Hannes Loth becomes the new mayor of Raguhn-Jeßnitz in the Anhalt-Bitterfeld district. He was elected by the citizens in a run-off election on Sunday and prevailed against the independent Nils Naumann.
After preliminary final result of the city has he AfD candidate Hannes Loth Reached 51.13 percent of the votes. His challenger, non-party Nils Naumann, has 48.87 percent. Voter turnout was reported to be 61.51 percent. 7,779 people were eligible to vote.
Loth had already been ahead in the first round with around 170 votes. If elected, he had announced that he would give up his seat in the state parliament.
Loth surprised, Naumann for objectivity
“I am totally surprised, flashed and I would like to thank all voters,” said Loth after the election. He is also available for those who would not have voted for him. His election campaign was based purely on municipal issues – it’s about strengthening the fire brigade, daycare centers and more citizen participation.
The non-party Naumann, who narrowly lost the election, said it didn’t matter to him whether there would be an AfD mayor in the future. “I’m concerned with facts and objectivity and not with the party,” said Naumann. As city council chairman, he will continue to work for the citizens.
First ballot without an absolute majority
As early as mid-June, the almost 8,000 voters in the Muldestadt were called to vote for the mayor. The previous mayor, Bernd Marbach (non-party), resigned from office early in the spring for health reasons. However, back then it could none of the four candidates who stood up could achieve an absolute majority. According to the city administration, Naumann received 36.9 percent of the votes, AfD man Loth 40.7 percent.
Results of the first ballot
Steffen Berkenbusch (independent): 16.59 percent Hannes, Loth (AfD): 40.7 percent Marten, Melzer (CDU): 5.82 percent Nils Naumann (independent): 36.89 percent Result of the mayoral election in Raguhn-Jeßnitz ( first ballot) on June 18, 2023
Hannes Loth first elected AfD mayor in Germany
Hannes Loth is the first full-time, elected AfD mayor in Germany. Loth is currently a member of the state parliament in Saxony-Anhalt. Both Loth and Naumann grew up in Raguhn-Jeßnitz. Naumann is currently working as a department head in neighboring Bitterfeld-Wolfen. Loth is a farmer and was a manager in an agricultural company.
The town of Raguhn-Jeßnitz is a unitary municipality in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld. It was created in 2010 through the merger of several small municipalities and has around 7,700 eligible voters among the 8,800 inhabitants. The AfD has been represented in the city council since 2019 with a share of the vote of 20.1 percent and four seats.
First AfD district administrator in Thuringia
Most recently, the district election in the southern Thuringian district of Sonneberg caused a stir because of Robert Stuhlmann for the first time in Germany an AfD candidate was elected district administrator had been. This had the debate on the current The AfD is also flying high in Germany-wide surveys fueled further. Accordingly, the party is currently at 20 percent. The State Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Thuringia rates the AfD regional association there as “secure right-wing extremism”, Germany-wide the Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies the party as a suspected case.
MDR (André Damm, Moritz Arand), dpa, epd | First published on 07/02/2023