Tobias Schick from the SPD reacts to the interim results of the count for the runoff election for the office of Cottbus Mayor Photo: Frank Hammerschmidt/dpa
From the BZ editorial team
SPD candidate Tobias Schick clearly prevailed against AfD candidate Lars Schieske in the mayoral election in Cottbus. The 41-year-old Schick received 68.6 percent of the votes in the run-off election on Sunday, Schieske got 31.4 percent.
The election was eagerly awaited because it was also about the question of whether the AfD would appoint a mayor for the first time in Germany or not. Schick was ahead in the first ballot. After that, the CDU, Greens, Left and FDP promised the SPD man their support for the runoff.
The still incumbent CDU Mayor Holger Kelch did not appear for health reasons. His successor will take office on November 30th. According to the Brandenburg Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the city undergoing structural change is the focus of right-wing extremism in the state.