AfD triples local election gains in NRW, claims third place with 14.5%

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) has significantly increased its presence in the local elections held in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germany, nearly tripling its results from 2020. The party secured 14.5% of the vote, an increase of 9.4 percentage points, allowing it to surpass the Greens, who received 13.5% of the vote, a decrease of 6.5 percentage points. The AfD now claims the position of the third-largest party in the region, behind the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which garnered 33.3% (down 1.0%), and the Social Democratic Party (SPD), which received 22.1% (down 2.2%). This marks the worst communal performance for both major parties since 1946.

Voter turnout for the elections rose to 56.5%, up from 51.9% in 2020. Approximately 13.7 million eligible voters participated in deciding on 20,000 mandates and key mayoral positions.

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