Preliminary results show Alternative für Deutschland (AFD) securing a major breakthrough in the Hessian local elections.
Polling shows the AfD nearly tripling its share of the vote in rural areas, doubling its share in major cities, and even leading in three districts. According to Wiesbaden AfD state chairman Robert Lambrou, his party’s initial results in the Hessian local elections are a major success. Based on current figures, he expects to double this statewide result (compared to securing 6.9% in 2021), adding:
The other parties’ strategy of marginalizing the AfD is becoming less and less effective.
Although the full results are not yet available, the preliminary results—where voters marked a party list rather than individual candidates—show what Junge Freiheit called
“some spectacular gains for the AfD—especially in the rural districts.”
Three municipalities saw the national conservatives secure first place: Biebesheim am Rhein in the Groß-Gerau district (27.5%); Erlensee in the Main-Kinzig district (25.9%); and in the town of Büdingen in the Wetterau district (25.4%).
One outlier was in the city of Offenbach, where the AfD vote halved—despite a strong performance in the wider district, where the AfD increased its vote share by 12.4 percentage points, from 7.2% to 19.6%, coming second to the CDU on 36.7%.
