Struggles for AfD in Thuringia's regional polls - Deputy for Höcke Fails
Coming up: next rally for the AfD!
⏩ Höcke's deputy party leader Stefan Möller (49) made headlines. As the second chairman in the state capital Erfurt for the mayoral elections, he obtained only 19.3% after nearly all voting stations had been tallied. This has rendered him a mere bystander in the June 9th election.
The contest boils down to two more: Andreas Bausewein (22.6%) from the SPD and Andreas Horn (28.3%) from the CDU. The competition from the Greens (4.2%) and the Left (12.9%) became extinct.
Scant success for AfD in runoffs
AfD is set to suffer another defeat in Saalfeld-Rudolstadt's district council elections. This divided party is pitted against itself in a two-list struggle: AfD vs. AfL (Alternative for the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district). Höcke has been lobbying for the AfL, with the intention of ousting the dissidents from the original AfD. However, surprisingly, the AfL is ahead of Höcke's AfL in the early reported voting districts.
The prospects are dim for the AfD in the mayoral election in Gera as well; Candidate Wieland Altenkirch lags significantly behind in the documented votes from the first voting districts.
The few AfD candidates who managed to progress to the runoff are also at a disadvantage. They stand to lose, mainly because the AfD barely managed to surpass the second-round contenders in the previous municipal elections in Nordhausen and the Saale-Orla region.
Mood is upbeat within the CDU, which has claimed an absolute majority in the mayoral races in Weimar, Suhl, and Altenburg.
The CDU bypassed the county council election in Hildburghausen, allowing Neo-Nazi Tommy Frenck (37) the opportunity to shine. His result: 26.9%, leading to a runoff.
Voter turnout was around the same as the previous major municipal election in 2018.
⏩ Long lines formed outside numerous polling stations. Voters experienced waiting times of over an hour in many locations. Voting stations had to be requested in cities such as Jena and Gera. Moreover, multiple protests against right-wing extremism featuring thousands of participants simultaneously occurred to coincide with the elections. Unfortunately, a voter collapsed en route to a polling station in Bad Köstritz prior to casting his ballot, and died.
(Background: In the polls for the Thuringian state election [September 1st], the AfD has been at the forefront for some time, even though the state association is often considered reliably extreme-right by the Constitutional Protection) and Höcke, among others, has been summoned to court on several occasions for incitement to hatred.)
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Source: symclub.org
