Elections - Pirna elects a new mayor - with AfD candidate
A new mayor will be elected in Pirna on Sunday (from 8 a.m.). In the town near Saxon Switzerland, the AfD has a chance of installing a candidate as mayor for the first time nationwide.
In the first round of voting on November 26, none of the five candidates for the head of the town hall achieved the required majority. Now the field of candidates has been reduced to a trio: in addition to CDU politician Kathrin Dollinger-Knuth, master carpenter Tim Lochner is running for the AfD and Ralf Thiele for the Free Voters. Thiele and Lochner are non-party members.
In the first round, the AfD candidate was clearly ahead with just under 33% of the vote. He was followed by Thiele with 23.2 percent and Dollinger-Knuth with 20.3 percent. Ralf Wätzig (SPD/Greens) received almost 10 percent and the independent candidate André Liebscher just under 14 percent. The CDU candidate Dollinger-Knuth is now supported by the two candidates who are not running again.
Voter turnout in the first round was only 50.4 percent. Several initiatives have called for a broad participation in the second round of voting. If Lochner were to win, he would be the first mayor to be nominated by the AfD. Incumbent Klaus-Peter Hanke (non-party) did not run again in the municipality with around 40,000 inhabitants near the border with the Czech Republic.
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- The AfD has gained significant attention in Saxony, as they aim to install their candidate as mayor in Pirna for the first time in municipal elections across Germany.
- The upcoming elections in Pirna, scheduled for Sunday, will determine the fate of the CDU's Kathrin Dollinger-Knuth and rival AfD candidate Tim Lochner, both vying for the position of mayor.
- In the first round of elections, the AfD candidate garnered nearly 33% support, placing them ahead of competing candidates from the CDU, Free Voters, SPD/Greens, and an independent, setting up a tight race for the second round.
- If the AfD's Tim Lochner were to win the elections, it would mark a significant milestone in the party's history, as they have yet to install a mayor in any municipality in Germany.
Source: www.stern.de
