Brandenburg Faces Runoffs in Five Mayoral Races, AfD Gains Ground
Berlin, Germany – Several cities across the German state of brandenburg will head to runoff elections on October 12th after Sunday’s municipal elections failed to produce outright winners in five key mayoral races.Notably, candidates from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) will be competing in three of those runoffs, signaling a potential shift in the political landscape of the region.
The most closely watched race will be in Eisenhüttenstadt, a city steeped in industrial history. Founded in 1950 as a socialist model town in East Germany, Eisenhüttenstadt – now home to around 24,000 residents following decades of population decline - will see a contest between Maik Dipold of the AfD, who garnered approximately 38% of the vote, and Marko Henkel of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), who received around 27%. No candidate secured the necesary majority exceeding 50% in the initial vote,necessitating the runoff. The AfD previously performed strongly in the city during February’s national elections.
Beyond Eisenhüttenstadt, runoffs are also scheduled in:
* Kolkwitz (Spree-Neisse): Incumbent Karsten Schreiber (SPD) will face Birgit Paulick (self-reliant) after Schreiber secured 43.6% of the vote to Paulick’s 34.5%.
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