Alternative for Germany party triples results in municipal elections

The party received 16.4% of the vote, compared to 5% in the last election five years ago, according to calculations by the WDR television channel.

The CDU remains the dominant force in the municipalities of North Rhine-Westphalia. According to preliminary data, it is gaining 34.2% of the vote. This is almost exactly the same as the CDU's result in the 2020 local elections of 34.3%. Since 1999, the CDU has regularly gained the most votes in local elections in this region. The SPD is in second place with 22.6% of the vote, a slight minus of 1.7% compared to 2020.

The AfD overtook the Greens, moving into third place. The Greens lost 8.3% and will end up with 11.7% of the vote. In 2020, the Greens achieved their best result in the local elections in North Rhine-Westphalia with 20%, Spiegel reports.

Unlike the Bundestag elections or state elections, there are no barriers for city, municipal and district councils in the local elections in North Rhine-Westphalia. Only in the elections to the Ruhr parliament is there a 2.5 percent threshold for parties.

The municipal elections in Germany's most populous state were a major first test after the federal vote that resulted in the formation of a government led by Friedrich Merz (CDU) in coalition with the SPD. In these elections, the AfD, Alice Weidel's nationalist movement, won a historic 20.8% of the vote, AFP notes.