The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Leipzig Mayor Election: Turn in the runoff election - tight outcome

2020-03-01T20:18:09.957Z


Sebastian Gemkow (CDU) surprisingly won the first round of the mayoral election in Leipzig. In the second round on Sunday everything is now open.


Sebastian Gemkow (CDU) surprisingly won the first round of the mayoral election in Leipzig. In the second round on Sunday everything is now open.

  • Sebastian Gemkow (CDU) surprisingly won the first round of the mayor election in Leipzig .
  • Previously, Hamburg had been under the leadership of the SPD for more than 30 years.
  • The second ballot will follow on March 1 - and Gemkow is motivated.

Update of March 1, 8:00 p.m .: The runoff election for the Leipzig Mayor's Office has been decided: As the Leipzig People's Newspaper reports, in the end it was just enough for the SPD candidate and incumbent Burkhard Jung . He relegated his challenger Sebastian Gemkow from the CDU to second place.

Jung got the most votes on Sunday in the second ballot after counting almost all constituencies with 49.1 percent and was thus just ahead of Gemkow, who received 47.6 percent . In the first ballot four weeks ago, Jung was surprisingly just behind the former Saxon Minister of Justice and Acting Minister of Science Gemkow. Because no candidate achieved the necessary majority, a second ballot was necessary. Left and Greens had previously withdrawn their own applicants and called for support from Jung.

Congratulations for Jung quickly came from the SPD leadership. Party leader Saskia Esken wrote on Twitter about a "great success" - the next one after the general election in Hamburg. SPD vice and Juso boss Kevin Kühnert spoke of a "strong team performance".

#Leipzig stays young!
Congratulations to @Burkhard_Jung and @SPDLeipzig for this great success. After Hamburg, you are sending another strong signal for #social democracy and good social coexistence in Leipzig, Saxony and throughout the country.

- Saskia Esken (@EskenSaskia) March 1, 2020

Preliminary report: CDU minister surprisingly wins first round of mayor election in Leipzig

Leipzig - At the beginning of February, Saxony's Minister of Science Sebastian Gemkow (CDU) surprisingly won the first round of the mayoral election in Leipzig. Round two follows on March 1st. Will he be able to defend his top spot there? The lawyer received 31.6 percent of the vote in the first round of the election - ahead of incumbent Burkhard Jung (SPD) , who received 29.8 percent . However, since neither candidate was able to achieve an absolute majority, the second round now takes place.

Leipzig election: In the second round, all candidates can start again

In Saxony there is no runoff election , instead all candidates can run again . Much will therefore depend on what the other of the eight applicants for the mayor post do now. Since the Leipzig City Hall has been in the hands of the SPD for three decades, the result is a surprise. A poll had also seen SPD man Jung well before Gemkow before the election on Sunday. The 61-year-old town hall chief has been in Leipzig since 2006 and is applying for a third term. The turnout in Leipzig was 49.1 percent .

"I am pleased about the trust that the voters have placed in me," said Gemkow , who was born in Leipzig. But he is also going with humility in the coming weeks and wants to convince as many people in Leipzig as possible that he has good ideas for the city. The CDU politician ushered in the further election campaign. "Now it's about the sausage," he called to his followers. The result was not surprising. "I expected exactly that. This duel that is now in sight - that's the city, ”said the mayor.

Leipzig election: third best was a left-wing politician, fourth place went to a green party

But his biggest competitor, Burkhard Jung, is also trying to win over voters before the second round of elections - including via Twitter.

Dear Leipzigers, on March 1st you will decide on the future of our city. Leipzig's success story must continue. I ask for your trust, your vote on March 1st. # obmle20 # obmle2020 #Leipzig #burkhardjung pic.twitter.com/BBGM675H6B

- Burkhard Jung (@Burkhard_Jung) February 25, 2020

Alongside Gemkow and Jung, Franziska Riekewald from the left achieved the third-best result in the first round of the election with 13.5 percent . It was ahead of the Greens applicant Katharina Krefft (12.0 percent) . AfD candidate Christoph Neumann only achieved a one-digit result with 8.7 percent . The AfD in Saxony also had problems with the local elections last year. Incidentally, there is also a local election in Bavaria in March. You can find out how voting works in the video.

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2020-03-01

You may like

News/Politics 2024-03-17T19:27:12.326Z

Trends 24h

News/Politics 2024-03-28T06:04:53.137Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.