Lower Saxony local elections: CDU holds Wolfsburg, Hannover mayoral race heads to runoff

Source: Moritz Frankenberg/dpa

Lower Saxony has voted. The municipal elections are considered an important mood test for the parties – also with regard to the AfD. Initial results show that in Wolfsburg, the CDU retains control of city hall.

Wolfsburg: CDU Holds City Hall

As one of the first decisions, it was confirmed shortly before 8 p.m. that city hall in the VW city of Wolfsburg would remain in CDU hands. In the mayoral election, incumbent Dennis Weilmann (CDU) narrowly secured an absolute majority with 50.1 percent.

• Karsten Schneider (SPD): 15.5 percent
• Thomas Schick (AfD): 14.1 percent

Hannover: Runoff Election Expected

In the state capital Hannover, early indications suggested a runoff election would take place in two weeks. After more than two-thirds of the votes had been counted, incumbent Mayor Belit Onay (Greens) was clearly ahead of his SPD challenger Axel von der Ohe.

CDU Candidate Karst Admits Defeat

CDU candidate Peter Karst admitted his defeat. "Looking at the board here, the election in Hannover is over as far as I am concerned," Karst told party supporters on election night. He said the result affected him "deeply."

Karst apologized to his supporters for the result and took responsibility. The CDU had wanted to offer people a fundamental change in politics but failed to get its message across. "Unfortunately, we were unable to reach people where they stand," Karst said. He wished Onay and von der Ohe a fair and factual campaign for the runoff.

Karst is a lawyer and chief executive officer of the Hannover Chamber of Crafts. It only became known shortly before the election that prosecutors were investigating matters related to the chamber. The background involves possible violations of social security obligations regarding the use of freelance lecturers. Karst stated that the Chamber of Crafts was cooperating fully with the investigating authorities. The presumption of innocence applies.

Karst joined the CDU only prior to his candidacy. With topics such as economy, security, cleanliness, and faster administration, he aimed to achieve a change at the top of city hall. Onay has been mayor since 2019.

Voter Turnout

By the afternoon, more people had cast their votes than five years ago. The electoral commission reported a turnout of 50.67 percent at 4:30 p.m. Around 6.3 million people were called upon to elect their local representatives in districts, cities, and municipalities; mayors and district administrators were also elected.

Results Timeline

• The preliminary final result is not expected until Monday morning.
• First results from the districts are expected from around 10:30 p.m.
• Shortly after 10:00 p.m., a projection by Infratest dimap published by NDR is expected to provide a clearer picture of how the parties performed statewide.

CDU State Leader Optimistic

CDU state leader Sebastian Lechner expressed optimism in the evening that his party would ultimately come out on top statewide. He was convinced that the state CDU could distance itself from the federal trend and again had a very good chance of becoming the strongest force in Lower Saxony.

"You know that these municipal elections did not take place under easy circumstances. We too noticed the discontent with Berlin," Lechner said. He acknowledged that his Union had a "credibility problem" that needed to be discussed calmly in the coming weeks.

Broader Context

The municipal elections were seen not only as a mood test in Lower Saxony, governed by a red-green coalition, ahead of the next state parliament election. They also come one week after the AfD's success in the state parliament elections in Saxony-Anhalt and one week before the next elections in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Berlin.