Local elections in Lower Saxony have begun

The local elections have begun in Lower Saxony. The polling stations have been open since 8 a.m. Around 6.3 million people are called upon to elect their mayors, district administrators and local councils. In total, more than 29,000 mandates will be awarded. According to the state election authorities, election results will initially be determined locally and regionally from Sunday evening. A preliminary state result is not expected to be available until Monday morning.

Mayoral elections take place in the state capital Hanover, as well as in Oldenburg, Osnabrück, Braunschweig and Göttingen, among others. In Hanover, Mayor Belit Onay (Greens) wants to defend his office. He has ruled the city of 522,000 residents since 2019. A decision will also be made on the president of the Hanover region. Incumbent Steffen Krach will not run again. The SPD politician has been on leave since March as he is running as the top candidate in the Berlin House of Representatives election.

In addition to classic municipal issues such as public safety and infrastructure expansion, the election campaign in recent weeks was also influenced by the crisis at Volkswagen. Lower Saxony is the car manufacturer's home country, and the company's headquarters are in Wolfsburg. The group decided in September to cut 50,000 jobs and close or sell entire plants.

AfD candidates not allowed to vote

In the last local elections in 2021, the CDU became the strongest force nationwide with 31.7 percent, just ahead of the SPD (30 percent). The Greens came third with 15.9 percent of the vote. The AfD got 2.2 percent in the local council elections five years ago. In the elections for district councils and representatives of independent cities, it achieved 4.6 percent.