2025 North Rhine-Westphalia local elections

Last updated

2025 North Rhine-Westphalia local elections
Flag of North Rhine-Westphalia.svg
←  2020 14 September 20252030 →
All municipal and district council seats in North Rhine-Westphalia
Turnout56.8% (Increase2.svg 4.9%)
 First partySecond partyThird party
 
Party CDU SPD AfD
Last election1,213 seats,
34.3%		912 seats,
24.3%		185 seats,
5.0%
Seats won1,205827552
Seat changeDecrease2.svg 8Decrease2.svg 86Increase2.svg 366
Popular vote2,618,1381,739,2461,140,055
Percentage33.3%22.1%14.5%
SwingDecrease2.svg 1.0Decrease2.svg 2.2Increase2.svg 9.4
 Fourth partyFifth partySixth party
 
Party Greens Left FDP
Last election705 seats,
20.0%		137 seats, 3.8%198 seats, 5.6%
Seats won466200131
Seat changeDecrease2.svg 239Increase2.svg 63Decrease2.svg 66
Popular vote1,062,436438,452289,700
Percentage13.5%5.6%3.7%
SwingDecrease2.svg 6.5Increase2.svg 1.8Decrease2.svg 1.9
2025 North Rhine-Westphalia local elections.svg
Leading party by district

Local elections in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia took place on 14 September 2025 to elect district, municipal, and city councils and local boards, as well as mayors in most cities and district administrators in most districts. Runoff elections for mayors and district administrators will be held on 28 September if necessary. [1] [2] There was no five percent hurdle unlike in federal elections. [3]

Contents

Voting eligibility

All German and EU citizens aged 16 or over on election day are eligible to vote if they had lived in a municipality for at least sixteen days. [1]

Events

During the election a number of Alternative for Germany (AfD) candidates died. Figures in reports vary from at least six [4] to seven [5] deaths.

The elected mayor of Herdecke Iris Stalzer (SPD) was stabbed on 7 October 2025. [6]

Results

The following shows the result of the elections to the district councils and district free cities.

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Christian Democratic Union (CDU)2,618,13833.261,205Decrease2.svg 8
Social Democratic Party (SPD)1,739,24622.10827Decrease2.svg 86
Alternative for Germany (AfD)1,140,05514.48552Increase2.svg 366
Alliance 90/The Greens (GRÜNE)1,062,43613.50466Decrease2.svg 239
The Left (DIE LINKE)438,4525.57200Increase2.svg 63
Free Democratic Party (FDP)289,7003.68131Decrease2.svg 66
Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW)85,8841.0940New
Volt Germany (Volt)86,9261.1032Increase2.svg 19
Die PARTEI (Die PARTEI)58,5270.7426Decrease2.svg 8
Action Party for Animal Welfare (Tierschutz hier!)14,2430.186Increase2.svg 3
Free Voters (FW)8,8620.114New
Human Environment Animal Protection Party (Tierschutzpartei)7,7080.103Steady2.svg
Pirate Party (PIRATEN)6,3300.083Decrease2.svg 7
Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP)2,4260.032Decrease2.svg 1
Family Party (FAMILIE)2,0850.031Decrease2.svg 1
Centre Party (ZENTRUM)1,6150.021Steady2.svg
German Communist Party (DKP)8250.011Decrease2.svg 1
Other parties13,0810.17–Decrease2.svg 6
Grouping of electors 293,3263.73148Decrease2.svg 23
Independents1,6340.02–Steady2.svg
Total7,871,499100.003,648Increase2.svg 48
Valid votes7,871,49998.99Increase2.svg 0.5%
Invalid/blank votes80,2491.01Decrease2.svg 0.5%
Total votes7,951,748100.00–
Registered voters/turnout13,998,66956.80Increase2.svg 4.9%
Source: North Rhine-Westphalia - State Returning Officer - Minister of the Interior

Results in independent cities

City councils
City CDU SPD AfD Grüne Linke FDP BSW Volt PARTEI WGOthers
Cologne 19.919.99.125.010.83.91.95.01.82.50.1
Düsseldorf 33.514.910.621.96.44.91.62.51.01.61.0
Dortmund 22.124.916.616.58.02.12.01.41.82.62.1
Essen 30.222.616.912.35.81.91.51.51.83.61.7
Duisburg 17.432.621.29.16.01.52.10.50.49.20.2
Bochum 20.028.114.914.49.51.91.71.51.35.90.7
Wuppertal 22.228.817.111.48.44.22.50.41.42.90.5
Bielefeld 29.421.712.215.010.54.81.21.21.61.60.8
Bonn 31.911.86.026.38.72.91.12.70.97.00.5
Münster 31.314.14.531.68.42.9–4.01.10.91.0
Mönchengladbach 33.228.415.68.65.62.82.11.31.90.4
Gelsenkirchen 19.230.429.94.64.32.71.6–0.84.42.2
Aachen 32.813.47.727.87.72.71.73.01.31.70.1
Krefeld 30.525.915.611.25.53.5––1.72.83.3
Oberhausen 26.826.121.58.25.72.12.3–2.32.32.8
Hagen 26.419.922.47.43.93.03.1–1.112.00.8
Hamm 22.946.116.34.72.72.01.80.9–2.5–
Mülheim an der Ruhr 30.125.515.114.24.73.2––2.24.70.3
Leverkusen 31.021.515.310.95.13.3–2.5–10.00.4
Solingen 29.917.715.011.35.22.0––1.316.51.0
Herne 17.837.022.48.55.61.82.2––3.51.2
Bottrop 26.831.621.86.74.72.4––––6.1
Remscheid 27.031.316.18.46.44.2–––6.6–
Mayors
CityElected mayorParty/TicketResult
1st round2nd round
Cologne Torsten Burmester SPD 21.3%53.5%
Düsseldorf Stephan Keller CDU 43.6%60.5%
Dortmund Alexander Kalouti CDU 17.0%52.9%
Essen Thomas Kufen CDU 42.3%57.1%
Bochum Jörg Lukat SPD/Grüne 43.1%64.7%
Wuppertal Miriam Scherff SPD 33.3%74.6%
Bielefeld Christiana Bauer CDU 33.0%51.4%
Bonn Guido Déus CDU 38.9%54.0%
Münster Tilman Fuchs Grüne 41.3%57.9%
Mönchengladbach Felix Heinrichs SPD 43.4%63.6%
Gelsenkirchen Andrea Henze SPD 37.0%66.9%
Aachen Michael Ziemons CDU 40.5%56.0%
Krefeld Frank Meyer SPD 35.9%55.0%
Oberhausen Thorsten Berg SPD 31.1%51.3%
Hagen Dennis Rehbein CDU 25.171.7%
Hamm Marc Herter SPD 63.6%
Mülheim an der Ruhr Nadia Khalaf SPD 28.0%50.1%
Leverkusen Stefan Hebbel CDU 35.9%56.6%
Solingen Daniel Flemm CDU 31.7%57.8%
Herne Frank Dudda SPD 51.5%
Bottrop Matthias Buschfeld SPD 38.5%61.9%
Remscheid Sven Wolf SPD 41.5%68.0%

Results in districts

District councils
City CDU SPD AfD Grüne Linke FDP BSW Volt PARTEI WGOthers
Recklinghausen 33.427.519.69.34.42.72.40.40.2––
Rhein-Sieg-Kreis 38.719.813.314.63.83.81.92.5–1.20.5
Aachen 36.719.812.816.15.73.11.12.11.60.9–
Mettmann 36.116.914.614.54.35.5–––4.04.1
Rhein-Erft-Kreis 37.220.914.713.34.43.51.90.8–2.21.1
Wesel 33.229.013.510.85.53.5–0.6–3.9–
Rhein-Kreis Neuss 38.822.012.712.03.85.00.80.61.51.90.8
Steinfurt 39.622.710.813.85.14.0–––4.0–
Märkischer Kreis 37.019.118.37.85.84.61.5––5.9–
Unna 27.230.817.010.04.72.71.41.10.34.80.1
Borken 47.615.010.19.63.84.31.3––8.2–
Gütersloh 39.718.213.713.04.64.2–0.6–6.0–
Lippe 28.327.016.911.84.44.1––0.93.53.2
Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis 26.028.916.712.95.54.52.00.11.22.10.2
Kleve 43.418.113.012.44.64.8–––3.7–
Minden-Lübbecke 33.126.518.18.94.84.8––0.33.50.0
Paderborn 44.512.015.114.35.23.41.3–1.52.7–
Soest 39.519.913.810.63.85.11.5–0.15.8–
Viersen 40.516.313.215.74.25.1–1.12.31.7–
Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis 37.317.612.016.84.64.6–3.2–3.7–
Warendorf 41.217.910.813.24.74.3––0.35.81.7
Siegen-Wittgenstein 32.225.417.07.94.84.8–2.2–3.12.6
Oberbergischer Kreis 36.320.518.19.64.34.02.4––4.9–
Düren 38.621.017.99.03.82.82.10.7–4.1–
Hochsauerlandkreis 46.622.312.17.23.23.9–––4.7–
Heinsberg 46.713.816.211.13.83.8––0.44.3–
Herford 29.829.618.19.05.23.3–0.31.92.9–
Coesfeld 47.115.69.116.03.53.7–––3.21.8
Euskirchen 34.724.716.08.54.06.61.1––4.00.5
Höxter 44.815.614.58.83.33.5–––9.5–
Olpe 49.117.912.08.12.52.90.5––6.9–
District administrators
CityElected administratorParty/TicketResult
1st round2nd round
Recklinghausen Bodo Klimpel CDU/FDP 39.8%51.9%
Rhein-Sieg-Kreis Sebastian Schuster CDU 45.0%56.2%
Aachen Tim Grüttemeier CDU 44.3%62.5%
Mettmann Bettina Warnecke CDU 57.9%
Rhein-Erft-Kreis Frank Rock CDU 45.9%62.9%
Wesel Ingo Brohl CDU/Grüne 46.6%57.4%
Rhein-Kreis Neuss Katharina-Bernhardine Reinhold CDU 45.9%62.8%
Steinfurt Martin Sommer Independent 28.1%70.5%
Märkischer Kreis Ralf Michael Schwarzkopf CDU 56.2%
Unna Mario Löhr SPD 58.7%
Borken Kai Zwicker CDU 62.5%
Gütersloh Ina Laukötter CDU 59.2%
Lippe Meinolf Haase CDU 39.8%55.6%
Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis Jan-Christoph Schaberick SPD 37.6%55.9%
Kleve No election
Minden-Lübbecke No election
Paderborn Christoph Rüther CDU 53.8%
Soest Heinrich Frieling CDU 48.2%60.3%
Viersen Bennet Gielen CDU 47.0%59.2%
Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis Arne von Boettischer CDY 40.8%56.9%
Warendorf Olaf Gericke CDU/FDP 64.6%
Siegen-Wittgenstein Andreas Müller SPD 44.2%62.2%
Oberbergischer Kreis Klaus Grootens CDU/FDP 43.2%61.7%
Düren Ralf Nolten CDU 44.4%59.8%
Hochsauerlandkreis Thomas Grosche CDU 63.2%
Heinsberg Stephan Pusch CDU 62.6%
Herford Mirco Schmidt CDU 43.6%53.8%
Coesfeld Christian Schulze Pellengahr CDU 67.8%
Euskirchen Markus Ramers SPD 68.1%
Höxter Michael Stickeln CDU 64.5%
Olpe Theo Melcher CDU 60.8%

Ruhr Parliament

PartyVotes%+/–Seats+/–
Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)584,82928.2Decrease2.svg1.129Steady2.svg0
Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU)531,69125.7Decrease2.svg1.526Decrease2.svg1
Alternative for Germany (AfD)386,86118.7Increase2.svg11.619Increase2.svg12
Alliance 90/The Greens (GRÜNE)232,42711.2Decrease2.svg9.111Decrease2.svg9
The Left (LINKE)120,8335.8Increase2.svg1.76Increase2.svg2
Action Party for Animal Welfare (TIERSCHUTZ)45,8192.2Increase2.svg0.20Steady2.svg0
Free Democratic Party (FDP)44,1502.1Decrease2.svg1.60Decrease2.svg4
Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW)40,7922.0New0New
Die PARTEI 27,4211.3Decrease2.svg0.80Steady2.svg0
Volt Germany (Volt)25,7531.2Increase2.svg0.70Steady2.svg0
Family Party of Germany (FAMILIE)8,9320.4New0New
Voter Initiative NRW (WIN)6,5890.3New0New
Team Todenhöfer 5,5180.3New0New
The Homeland (Heimat)2,9380.1New0New
Antifascist, Independent, Progressive (AUF Ruhr)2,6570.1New0New
GUT1,6500.1New0New
Party of Humanists (PdH)1,5950.1New0.1
Total1,070,455100.091Steady2.svg0
Blank/invalid votes25,0721.2
Registered voters/turnout3,876,36054.1Increase2.svg7.0
Source: State Returning Officer

Opinion polls

Statewide (2025)

Polling FirmPolling date CDU SPD GRÜNE FDP AfD LINKE BSW Others
2025 election14 September 202533.322.113.53.714.55.61.16.2
INSA 21 August 2025362310415633
Forsa 9 July 2025322214314627
2020 election 13 September 202034.324.3205.653.8—7

References

  1. 1 2 "Kommunalwahlen". Ministry of Internal Affairs of North Rhine-Westphalia. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  2. ↑ "NRW-Kommunalwahl 2025 ist am 14. September". WDR (in German). 26 September 2024. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
  3. ↑ "NRW-Kommunalwahlen 2025: Höhere Wahlbeteiligung, CDU stärkste Kraft". www1.wdr.de (in German). 15 September 2025. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  4. ↑ "Germany's far-right AfD suffers series of candidate deaths ahead of local vote". www.bbc.com. 2 September 2025. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  5. ↑ "Alternative for Germany candidates' deaths spark conspiracies". euronews. 5 September 2025. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  6. ↑ "German mayor critically injured in stabbing attack, police say". BBC News. 7 October 2025. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
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