Who is running? The incumbent District Administrator Köpper (CDU) is going into the runoff election against the AfD candidate Stuhlmann.
(Photo: dpa)
sun mountain Ten years after it was founded, the AfD in Thuringia wants to conquer a top municipal office for the first time. On Sunday in the district of Sonneberg she has the chance to bring her first district administrator into office in Germany. In a run-off election it will be decided whether your applicant Robert Stuhlmann or the incumbent CDU District Administrator Jürgen Köpper will have the say in the district on the border with Bavaria for the next six years.
In the first round of the district election two weeks ago, Stuhlmann was only a few percentage points short of winning the election. In Thuringia, the AfD with its boss Björn Höcke is classified and observed by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as a proven right-wing extremist.
The current AfD member of parliament and lawyer Stuhlmann received 46.7 percent in the first round, CDU candidate Köpper 35.7 percent. The election result had alarmed nationwide – especially since the AfD had an upswing in the most recent polls nationwide, but especially in the eastern German states.
The federal government’s anti-racism commissioner, Reem Alabali-Radovan, called for other parties to stand together in view of the AfD’s poll high. “The firewall against the AfD’s enemies of the constitution must not crumble,” said the SPD politician to the newspapers of the Funke media group.
In Thuringia, representatives of the Left, SPD, Greens and FDP as well as the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) have called for support for the CDU candidate Köpper. Some companies, craftsmen and cultural workers in the region campaigned for a high turnout and a decision for a democratic and cosmopolitan region.
>> Read here: Economists warn of the consequences of the AfD survey high
According to the CDU, the election campaign has been rough in the past few days – false claims have also been made on social media. Around 48,000 people are called to vote. Polling stations are open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. With around 57,000 inhabitants, Sonneberg is one of the smallest districts in Germany.
According to a representative Civey survey for the TV station Welt, a majority of Germans are concerned about the idea of an AfD district administrator. This was answered by 52 percent of those surveyed. On the other hand, 43 percent stated that they would not worry if the AfD won the district election. The remaining five percent were undecided.
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