Thuringia election: Frenck, a neo-Nazi, advances to the run-off poll.
Thuringia makes its choice. Voter participation is lower than it was five years ago. The CDU is riding a wave of success, leading in major cities. The AfD, on the other hand, frequently trails behind, the Left Party is facing a challenging time, and a right-wing extremist is pleased with it.
The Free State has entered a super election year three months before the Thuringian state election. More than 1.7 million people were asked to decide on municipal parliaments and municipal top officials. The municipal election serves as a significant indicator of public opinion, especially since the AfD, considered a securely right-wing extremist by the state constitution protection, and its leader, Björn Höcke, are under scrutiny. The Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) is running for the first time in the Thuringian municipal election, hoping to make it into the Erfurt state parliament in the fall. The results are highly anticipated. The Wahlserver of the Statistical State Office experiences a brief shutdown around 8 p.m.
At 6 p.m., polling stations closed, but voting continued for a while longer in a station in the city of Mühlhausen. There was a high turnout here. Anyone who was in line at 6 p.m. could still cast their vote. Previously, the "Thuringian General Newspaper" reported about long wait times and missing ballot papers in Jena. There, additional voting booths had to be ordered, says the local district election officer Matthias Bettenhauser. This was mainly the case in the larger districts. "In Winzerla, the demand was so high that we had to deliver ballot papers," he added. Ballot papers were also ordered in Jena's city center.
At 4 p.m., the voter turnout was 46.2%, the "Leipzig People's Newspaper" (LVZ) reported. This is a bit lower than in the municipal and European elections in 2019 when the voter turnout was 48.5%. It was initially suggested that the voter turnout was slightly higher than five years ago. The voter turnout varied significantly for the elections of district councils and mayors. In Jena, it was only 49.5%, while in Weimar Land, it was more than two-thirds (68%).
30,000 election helpers are on duty and will be counting votes throughout the night.
CDU claims victory in Suhl
A mayoral candidate has already secured victory at 6:30 p.m.: The CDU's non-party candidate, Lothar Link, has won the community of Altenbeuthen in the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district with 75.5% of the votes. Wolfram Henrik from the CDU received only 24.5%.
In the state capital Erfurt, the CDU's candidate, Andreas Horn, has taken the lead with 27.5% of the counted votes. Andreas Bausewein from the SPD is in second place with 22.2%. Stefan Möller, running for the AfD, is in third place with 18.9%.
In the city of Suhl (37,000 inhabitants), voting is being counted quickly. By 6:35 p.m., 18 of the 40 electoral districts had been counted. CDU candidate André Knapp appears to be on his way to a new term as mayor with 82.2% of the votes. Left candidate Steffen Hartwig is in second place with 17.8%.
In Weimar, the results were counted rapidly. According to the "Thuringian Allgemeine," incumbent Peter Kleine from the CDU has regained the town hall. He was already ahead of the count of mail-in votes with an unassailable lead - with over 70% of the votes all night. The Left's candidate, Stefan Giebel, is currently in second place with around 10% of the votes. AfD candidates are not running in the city.
For the Left, things are not going well overall. However, there is a bright spot in the mayoral election in Sömmerda. Incumbent Ralf Hauboldt received 42.1% of the votes, while the CDU's candidate, Bastian Wulf, received 28.7%. Both are likely to proceed to a runoff, as AfD candidate Michael Bellstedt only managed to garner 23.3% of the votes.
AfD candidates are having a tough time overall. Bob-Olympic champion André Lange is fighting for a place in the runoff against incumbent Petra Enders in the Ilm-Kreis. Lange, who was nominated by the CDU as an independent, has 23.2% of the votes after 43 out of 136 voting districts have been counted and comes in third place. Ralf Gohritz from the AfD is in second place with 26.4% of the votes. Enders, however, is significantly ahead with 45.2% of the votes.
In Kyffhäuserkreis, the AfD is facing difficulties. As per MDR, results from 67 out of 119 voting districts are in, with SPD's Antje Hochwind-Schneider out front with 44.2% of the votes. AfD's Andreas Hartung-Schettler follows with 35.2%, while CDU's Sven Osterheld holds 20.5%.
Meanwhile, in Altenburger Land, it's the turn of the AfD candidate Heiko Philipp. He leads with 33% of the votes, leaving CDU's Uwe Melzer trailing closely with 32.3%. Meanwhile, The Left's Frank Tempel has 14.5%, and SPD's Alexander Paulicks has 7.4%.
In Hildburghausen, a Neo-Nazi named Tommy Frenck managed to make it to the runoff for the Landrat position. He garnered 24.9% of the votes - just a hair's breadth more than CDU's Dirk Lindner. Sven Gregor from the Free Voters dominated, with 42.4% of the votes.
"Leipziger Volkszeitung" predicts that 13 Landrat and 5 mayoral elections in the free cities will result in runoffs.
Hilarious side notes: The winter sports mecca of Oberhof has a new mayor, Daniel Fischer. With all 800 votes counted, Fischer, who is non-partisan, took a staggering 95.2% of the votes - but, he actually had an opponent. Although 37 ballots had other names written on them, it didn't stop Fischer from securing his win.
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- Despite the Lower Saxony election results showing a rise in support for the CDU, the AfD and FDP, the Thuringia election saw a different trend with the CDU leading in major cities, while the AfD trailed behind and the Left Party faced challenges.
- The Thuringia election results led to a right-wing extremist advancing to the run-off poll, which sparked concern and controversy among political parties and the public.
- The Alliance 90/The Greens and The Left are hoping to make progress in the upcoming Thuringia state election, following a challenging time in recent elections.
- The SPD and CDU are also looking for electoral success in Thuringia, as they seek to regain support and secure a strong position in the state parliament.
Source: www.ntv.de
