In the small town of Raguhn-Jeßnitz, the right-wing populist AfD will have a full-time mayor for the first time in Saxony-Anhalt. In the run-off election on Sunday, AfD member of parliament Hannes Loth prevailed over non-party candidate Nils Naumann. The 42-year-old Loth received 51.13 percent of the votes, the 31-year-old Naumann got 48.87 percent according to the preliminary election results, like the city in the south-east of Saxony-Anhalt in the evening communicated on the internet. Voter turnout was reported to be 61.51 percent.
Around 7,800 people were eligible to vote. Only a week ago, the first AfD district administrator in Germany was elected in Sonneberg in southern Thuringia.
Like his opponent Naumann, Loth grew up in Raguhn-Jeßnitz. He is a farmer and was a manager in an agricultural company. Loth has been a member of the state parliament for the right-wing populist AfD since 2016. He has also been active at the municipal level for several years. According to his own statements, Loth has been a city councilor in Raguhn-Jeßnitz since 2016 and a member of the Anhalt-Bitterfeld district council since 2019. During the election campaign, the 42-year-old primarily focused on local political issues. He wants to improve economic development and the equipment of the fire brigades.
In the first round, Loth got 40.7 percent of the votes, Naumann got 36.9 percent; two other applicants were well behind. The gap between Loth and Naumann was less than 200 votes. Naumann has been chairman of the city council since 2019 and works as a department head in neighboring Bitterfeld-Wolfen.