Burmester wins Cologne's runoff election: high voter turnout surprised!

Burmester wins Cologne's runoff election: high voter turnout surprised!

The eagerly awaited mayoral runoff election between Berivan Aymaz from the Greens and Torsten Burmester from the SPD took place in Cologne on Sunday. Polling stations opened at 8 a.m. and closed at 6 p.m. Voter turnout of 44.7 percent was already reported at 6 p.m., a significant increase compared to the 36.2 percent in the mayoral election five years ago Express reported.

At 7:17 p.m., former mayor Henriette Reker congratulated Torsten Burmester, who, according to the first results, was ahead of Berivan Aymaz with 53.54 percent of the vote, who got 46.46 percent. At 6:58 p.m. Burmester had 54.22 percent, while Aymaz had 45.78 percent. The counting of votes began at 6 p.m.

Political duel between the two candidates

Before the election, the election campaign was fiercely contested. Both candidates tried to convince citizens of their points of view. Torsten Burmester, who once worked as a ministry official and later headed the German Olympic Sports Confederation, emphasized his experience in administration. Berivan Aymaz, Vice President of the State Parliament and previously active in the city council, emphasized her political competence. Their positions on various large-scale projects were particularly controversial: While Aymaz is against the development of the Gleueler Wiese, Burmester supports the plans. Opinions also differ on the upcoming light rail tunnel in the city center, and Aymaz is clearly against it WDR notes.

On election night, despite the upcoming runoff election, Aymaz was grateful and overwhelmed by the votes so far, while expressing her confidence in the interview. For both candidates, the final stretch of the election campaign was crucial in gaining the trust of voters.

A look at voter turnout

Voter turnout is an important indicator of the population's political participation. In Germany, all eligible voters aged 18 and over have the right to take part in elections. The current figures show that voter turnout in Cologne of 44.7 percent is a positive sign for democracy. Factors that influence voter turnout include the age of voters. Participation among older citizens tends to be higher, which is also reflected in general political participation Statista documented.

In this year's election, 807,675 people were eligible to vote. By lunchtime, voter turnout was 15.9 percent and increased steadily until 6 p.m. Burmester announced that his work for Cologne would begin on Monday at 8:30 a.m., leaving high expectations for his term in office.

Overall, the events of the runoff election in Cologne show how important the vote of every citizen is and that interest in local elections is obviously growing due to increasing voter turnout.