Update
Left weak, FDP ahead in Jena
Thuringia votes: CDU fends off AfD attacks on many occasions
26.05.2024, 19:06
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Thuringia has voted. Voter turnout is lower overall than it was five years ago. According to initial results, the CDU is riding a wave of success and is also ahead in large cities. The AfD, on the other hand, often comes up short, the Left Party is left empty-handed, and a right-wing extremist can be happy.
Around three months before the state elections in Thuringia, the state has entered a super election year. Around 1.7 million citizens were called upon to decide on local parliaments and top municipal offices. The local elections are an important test of the mood – especially with regard to the performance of the AfD, which is classified by the state’s Office for the Protection of the Constitution as definitely right-wing extremist, and is led by state leader Björn Höcke. The Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) alliance is also running for the first time in the Thuringian local elections, and is hoping to enter the state parliament in Erfurt in the autumn. There is great interest in the results, and at around 8 p.m. the election server of the State Statistical Office goes down for a few minutes.
The polling stations closed at 6 p.m., and voting continued for a little longer in one polling station in the town of Mühlhausen. There was a huge rush. Anyone standing in line at 6 p.m. was still allowed to cast their vote. The “Thüringer Allgemeine” newspaper had previously reported on long waiting times and missing ballot papers in Jena. In some cases, voting booths had to be reordered, says the local district election officer Matthias Bettenhäuser. According to him, this happened mainly in the larger districts. “In Winzerla, the rush was so great that we had to deliver additional ballot papers.” Ballot papers were also reordered in the center of Jena.
Overall, voter turnout by 4 p.m. was 46.2 percent, reports the “Leipziger Volkszeitung” (LVZ). This is slightly lower than in the local and European elections in 2019. At the same time, it was 48.5 percent. Initially, it was said that voter turnout was slightly higher than five years ago. Turnout in the elections for district administrators and mayors varied considerably in some cases. In the city of Jena, it was less than half (49.5 percent), but in Weimarer Land it was more than two thirds (68 percent). According to the “Thüringer Allgemeine”, 30,000 election workers are on duty and will be counting the votes in the next few hours.
CDU probably secures town hall in Suhl
A first mayor was already chosen at around 6:30 p.m.: According to reports from MDR, all votes had been counted in the municipality of Altenbeuthen in the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district. 75.5 percent went to the independent candidate Lothar Linke. Wolfram Henrik from the CDU only received 24.5 percent.
In the state capital of Erfurt, CDU candidate Andreas Horn is in the lead with 27.5 percent of the votes counted so far. Andreas Bausewein from the SPD is currently in second place with 22.2 percent. Stefan Möller, who is being put forward by the AfD, is in third place with 18.9 percent.
In the city of Suhl – which has a population of 37,000 – the counting is going pretty quickly. After 18 of 40 electoral districts had already been counted by 6:35 p.m., CDU candidate André Knapp is heading for a new term as mayor with 82.2 percent. Left Party candidate Steffen Hartwig is provisionally at 17.8 percent.
The counting was also quick in Weimar. According to the “Thüringer Allgemeine”, incumbent Peter Kleine of the CDU will be moving back into the town hall. He was already in an unassailable lead before the postal votes were counted – he had well over 70 percent of the votes the entire evening. Stefan Giebel of the Left Party is provisionally in second place with around 10 percent. No AfD candidate ran in the city.
Overall, things are not going well for the Left. There is, however, a glimmer of hope in the mayoral election in Sömmerda. Incumbent Ralf Hauboldt received 42.1 percent of the vote, while Bastian Wulf of the CDU received 28.7 percent – both will probably go into the runoff election, as AfD candidate Michael Bellstedt only received 23.3 percent.
AfD candidates lag behind
In the Ilm district, Olympic bobsleigh champion André Lange is fighting to make it into the runoff election against the incumbent district administrator Petra Enders. Lange, who was nominated by the CDU as an independent, has 23.2 percent of the vote in 43 of 136 constituencies and is in third place. AfD candidate Ralf Gohritz is in second place with 26.4 percent. Incumbent Enders, however, is clearly ahead with 45.2 percent.
The AfD is apparently also losing out in the Kyffhäuser district. According to MDR, 67 of 119 voting districts have been counted so far. Antje Hochwind-Schneider from the SPD is leading with 44.2 percent, ahead of AfD candidate Andreas Hartung-Schettler with 35.2 percent and the CDU politician Sven Osterheld with 20.5 percent of the vote.
In the Altenburg region, however, the AfD candidate is currently just ahead: Heiko Philipp is leading with 33 percent, ahead of incumbent Uwe Melzer from the CDU, who is just behind with 32.3 percent. The Left Party candidate Frank Tempel currently has 14.5 percent and SPD man Alexander Paulicks has 7.4 percent.
Right-wing extremist before runoff election
According to MDR, right-wing extremist Tommy Frenck could make it to the runoff election for the district administrator’s post in the Hildburghausen district. After counting 89 of the 128 voting districts, Frenck is in second place with 24.9 percent of the votes. Sven Gregor, the candidate of the Free Voters, has the most votes. He has 44 percent of the votes. CDU candidate Dirk Lindner is in third place with 22.8 percent.
According to the “Leipziger Volkszeitung”, run-off elections are expected in the election of 13 district administrators and 5 mayors of the independent cities.
Funny anecdotes: The winter sports stronghold of Oberhof has a new mayor. The independent candidate Daniel Fischer received 95.2 percent after all 800 votes had been counted, according to data from the state election officer. He had no opponent. Nevertheless, 37 voters wrote other people on the ballot paper.
According to MDR and “Thüringer Allgemeine”, there was no candidate for mayor in Fretterode in the Eichsfeld district. Honorary mayor Mike Gunkel did not run for re-election. Nevertheless, the vast majority of voters wrote him on the ballot; he received 71.6 percent of the votes.