Runoff election for the mayor's office in Hanover between Onay and von der Ohe

The decision about the mayor's office in Hanover will be made in a runoff election between incumbent Belit Onay (Greens) and SPD candidate Axel von der Ohe. Onay received 45.6 percent of the vote in the first round, von der Ohe received 21.5 percent, as can be seen from the preliminary final result for the state capital. The runoff election is scheduled for September 27th.

Onay was pleased with his clear lead on election evening. “We worked really hard on it,” said the Green politician with a view to the election campaign and thanked his supporters. “I think today we can say: it worked.”

Onay thus missed the absolute majority necessary for victory in the first round of voting. The Green politician has led the Lower Saxony state capital since 2019. At that time, he was the first Green to become mayor of the state capital.

Von der Ohe is the first city councilor and therefore the general representative of the mayor. Now the SPD politician is challenging his previous boss at the top of the administration. The new city leader is elected for eight years.

Karst takes responsibility for defeat

CDU candidate Peter Karst came in third with 14.1 percent. AfD candidate Jessica Schülke achieved 10.8 percent. The other candidates each remained below 5 percent.

Karst had already conceded defeat before the full result was known. “Looking at the board here, from my point of view the election in Hanover was over,” he told CDU supporters. Onay and von der Ohe wished for a fair, objective and substantive runoff election campaign.

The mayor's office is considered one of the most important municipal offices in Lower Saxony. Hanover is the largest city in the country with more than half a million inhabitants. The mayor heads the city administration and represents the state capital externally.