District election
Brandenburg: Non-party party unassailable in front of AfD candidate
The independent candidate Sven Herzberger wins the district election in the Dahme-Spreewald district. photo
© Patrick Pleul/dpa
As close as the first round of voting for the district office in Dahme-Spreewald was, the result of the runoff election was just as clear. Sven Herzberger is far ahead of the AfD candidate.
The AfD candidate Steffen Kotré achieved 35.5 percent after counting 255 of the 256 electoral areas. The AfD Bundestag member Kotré was in the first round of voting with 35.3 percent of the vote, just ahead of Herzberger with 34.8 percent. Zeuthen Mayor Herzberger was supported in the runoff election by all parties except the AfD. Voter turnout on Sunday was expected to be 47.2 percent, slightly lower than in the first round of voting at 50.8 percent.
Before the runoff election, several companies and educational institutions warned against extremism. The Brandenburg Office for the Protection of the Constitution has classified the AfD state association as a suspected right-wing extremist case since 2020. The AfD considers the classification to be incorrect.
In the Sonneberg district in Thuringia, the AfD has appointed its first district administrator in Germany this year. In the Dahme-Spreewald district, the previous district administrator Stephan Loge (SPD) is leaving office after 16 years. The district with the BER airport is considered a boom region.