In Nordhausen, Thuringia, the AfD candidate lost the runoff election for the office of mayor. The independent incumbent Buchmann won around 55 percent of the votes and can therefore continue to govern.
In the runoff election in Nordhausen, Thuringia, the independent incumbent Kai Buchmann won the election as mayor. With around 55 percent, he was well ahead of his opponent from the AfD, Jörg Prophet. He got a good 45 percent. If he had won, it would have been the first time that the AfD had nominated a mayor.
The count was accompanied by applause in the Nordhausen council chamber, whenever Buchmann was ahead or his lead increased. Outside the building, dozens of people gathered and cheered shortly before the result was announced. Some had posters with them that were directed against the AfD. When the result was announced, long-lasting cheers broke out in the council chamber.
The AfD candidate admitted his defeat. “We have a new mayor. The Prophet has become number two in this election,” he said before the results were announced. He is pleased that the city now has continuity again for six years and wishes the election winner success.
Good Starting position for AfD candidates before runoff elections
Prophet went into the runoff election in a good starting position because he received significantly more votes than Buchmann in the first round. He received 42.1 percent of the vote in the first round of voting on September 10th. He achieved by far the best result among five other applicants. The independent incumbent Kai Buchmann received 23.7 percent of the vote.
The voter turnout at that time was 56.4 percent. The runoff election was necessary because no candidate reached the 50 percent threshold. Nordhausen is a district town in northern Thuringia with around 42,000 inhabitants. The Thuringian AfD is classified and monitored by the state Office for the Protection of the Constitution as proven right-wing extremist, and the party is a suspected case nationwide.
Previous successes in local elections
This means that the AfD cannot continue its series of successes in local elections in East Germany. Since the end of June she has won a district election in Thuringia and a mayoral election in Saxony-Anhalt. It all started with the Sonneberg district in southern Thuringia, where the AfD politician Robert Sesselmann was elected as the AfD’s first district administrator. His election sparked discussions and worried reactions across the country.
The party is currently polling at values of more than 30 percent not only in Thuringia, but also in Saxony and Brandenburg – there are state elections in the three federal states in 2024.