In a runoff election, the residents of Schwerin were called upon to elect their new mayor. AfD candidate Leif-Erik Holm suffered a defeat.
In the mayoral election in Schwerin, incumbent Rico Badenschier (SPD) clearly prevailed against AfD candidate Leif-Erik Holm: In a runoff election on Sunday, Badenschier received 67.8 percent of the votes, Holm came to 32.2 percent. The administration of the state capital of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania announced this on its website after counting 78 of the 79 voting districts. Almost 80,000 voters were called to the runoff. Voter turnout was 48.6 percent.
The 44-year-old physician Badenschier has been in charge of Schwerin’s administration since 2016. The 52-year-old former radio presenter Holm has been deputy chairman of the AfD parliamentary group since 2017.
After the first ballot two weeks ago, the CDU, Greens, Left and the local voters’ alliance Independent Citizens called for Badenschier to be elected. Only the FDP did not make any recommendations.
In the first ballot, Badenschier was 42.0 percent ahead of Holm, who came second with 27.4 percent and thus also made it into the runoff. Four other applicants had applied for the post in the first ballot. The Lord Mayor of Schwerin is elected for a seven-year term.
