Local elections in Lower Saxony: AfD triples, CDU loses – alarm signal for the region

Intermediate status at district level Lower Saxony:CDU 27.2% (2021: 31.7%), SPD 24.6% (30.0%), AfD 15.9% (4.6% - more than tripled), Greens 14.1% (15.9%), Left 6.0% (2.8%), FDP 3.7% (6.5%). The numbers are still a provisional result, the official final result from the state returning officer is still pending (usually only days after the election); Voter turnout nationwide 64.6% (2021: 57.0%).

• CDU
• SPD
• Greens
• AfD (highlighted in red in the chart)
• left
• FDP

The AfD has more than tripled nationwide at district level - from 4.6 to 15.9 percent. This is not an abstract survey value, these are seats in district councils and councils that will have a say in future accommodation for refugees and social, youth and cultural budgets. It is precisely there, on the surface, that the normalization of fascism has its most concrete effect.

The local view: Göttingen holds, the surrounding area tilts.In the city of Göttingen, location of Command 161, the constellation remains a bulwark: city council election (as of September 14th, 3:29 a.m., preliminary final result) Greens 28.6%, CDU 21.6%, SPD 19.2%, Left 15.1% - Greens, SPD and Left together come to well over 60%. In the mayoral election (as of 7:40 a.m.), Onyeka Oshionwu (Greens) is leading with 41.4% ahead of Ehsan Kangarani (CDU, 27.9%) and Florian Dinger (SPD, 21.6%); a runoff election on September 27th. is confirmed.

In the Göttingen district itself, things look tighter: District election (as of 9:13 a.m., preliminary final result) SPD 25.8%, CDU 25.0%, Greens 17.2%,AfD 11.9%, Left 9.5% (seat distribution not yet finalized). In the district election (as of 10:09 p.m.) Ulrike Witt (SPD, 25.3%) is just ahead of Harm Adam (CDU, 23.4%) and Pippa Schneider (Greens, 17.3%) - here too, the runoff vote is going on.

The normalization is even clearer in the neighboring district of Northeim. District election (as of 12:00 a.m., preliminary final result): SPD 28.7%, CDU 23.2%,AfD 19.7%, Greens 12.5%. In the city of Northeim (as of 8:03 a.m., preliminary final result): SPD 27.1%, CDU 26.6%,AfD 18.5%, Greens 11.7%. In the district administrator and mayoral elections, AfD candidates Jens Kestner (21.1%, as of 8:54 p.m.) and Cornelia Sösemann-Kumm (17.1%, as of 10:17 p.m.) are running with double-digit results - not victorious, but firmly established in the race.

The picture is clear: the city of Göttingen holds on as an anti-fascist core, but in the immediate surrounding area - the district of Göttingen, the district and the city of Northeim - the AfD normalizes at 12 to almost 20 percent. It is precisely in this belt that it is decided how capable extreme right-wing networks become of local action: through district council mandates, through district administrators and mayors' offices, through access to local administration and resources. This is not a reason for reassurance, but rather the mission: anti-fascist alliance work must not be limited to the city limits, it must go into the surrounding area - to Northeim, into the districts, where the results today show that the edge is no longer the edge.

With the numerous runoff elections on September 27th - including mayor of Göttingen, district administrator of Göttingen, district administrator and mayor of Northeim - the situation remains in flux locally. Anyone who remains vigilant and organizes alliances will help decide which direction this second round will take.

Sources

NDR: Lower Saxony local elections 2026
NDR live ticker: winners, runoff elections and reactions
Lower Saxony state returning officer: local elections
Göttingen district: election results (votemanager)
Northeim district: election results (votemanager)