AfD takes on mayor for the first time: Candidate wins in Pirna, Saxony
Lochner is a member of the AfD parliamentary group in the city council, but not a party member himself. He runs a carpentry business. Lochner already stood in the 2017 mayoral election, but was clearly defeated by the previous incumbent Klaus-Peter Hanke (non-party), who did not run again in the current election for reasons of age.
In the first round of voting on November 26, none of the five candidates achieved the required absolute majority, which is why a second round of voting was necessary. Lochner received just under 33% in the first round and therefore the most votes. Ralf Thiele from the Free Voters came second with around 23%, while CDU candidate Kathrin Dollinger-Knuth came third with around 20%.
Two defeated candidates, the individual candidate André Liebscher and the Social Democrat Ralf Wätzig, who was supported by the SPD and the Greens, decided not to run again in favor of the CDU candidate. The Left Party also supported Dollinger-Knuth in the second round of voting. She now came second with 31.39%, ahead of Thiele with 30.08%. Voter turnout on Sunday was 53.8% after 50.38% in the first round of voting.
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Lochner's win in Pirna marks the first time that the AfD has taken on the role of mayor in Saxony. Despite being a member of the AfD parliamentary group, Lochner is not a party member himself. Previously, he ran for mayor in 2017 but was defeated by Klaus-Peter Hanke. The CDU's Kathrin Dollinger-Knuth, supported by the Left Party and other parties, came second in the recent election. Lochner's victory provides a significant shift in political dynamics in Germany. For the first time, a candidate from the AfD has won a mayoral election, breaking traditional party dominance in Pirna.
Source: www.stern.de
