Cologne has new elections: the Greens and the SPD are neck-and-neck!

Cologne has new elections: the Greens and the SPD are neck-and-neck!

On September 15, 2025 the time had finally come: Cologne has voted! After a long wait and speculation about the successor to Henriette Reker, who did not run for the office again, a total of 13 candidates ran for the mayoral election. Among them, Berivan Aymaz from the Greens, Torsten Burmester from the SPD and Markus Greitemann from the CDU stood out.

The preliminary results of the mayoral election show that Aymaz is way ahead with 28.1 percent of the vote, followed by Burmester, who received 21.3 percent of the vote, and Greitemann, who is not far behind with 19.5 percent. This means that a runoff election between Aymaz and Burmester is now likely, as neither candidate has achieved the necessary absolute majority. It remains exciting to see who will lead the city's fortunes in the future.

Higher voter turnout than in 2020

The election not only caused political waves, but also saw a high level of participation from Cologne citizens. With a voter turnout of 57.7 percent, this was higher than the result of the last local election in 2020, where only 51 percent cast their vote. Over 800,000 eligible voters cast their votes, meaning significantly more Cologne residents took part in democracy - a great sign!

The voting behavior was also reflected in the results of the council election: The Greens won 25 percent of the votes, followed by the CDU with 19.89 percent and the SPD, which is practically on a par with 19.88 percent. The Left achieved 10.8 percent, the AfD 9.1 percent, and Volt achieved 5 percent. Other parties, including some smaller groups, together accounted for 10.3 percent of the vote.

Political reactions and challenges

Before the elections, there were quite different opinions and conflicts between the factions in Cologne, especially with regard to current projects such as the construction of a new subway and 1. FC Köln's expansion plans in the city's green belt. It is therefore necessary to look at the coming months to see how the new balance of power in the city council will develop.

Many election workers were pleased by the support of 4,000 volunteers who ensured that the postal ballot envelopes could be opened and pre-sorted efficiently in the mess hall on election Sunday. This not only shows a lot of commitment from the citizens, but also the spirit of community that characterizes Cologne.

Unfortunately, there was also tragic news from the region: a man died at a polling station in Krefeld. Such incidents cast a shadow over the election and remind us of the importance of staying vigilant.

For the results in the individual maps, by-elections will be held next week in certain local authorities, such as in the independent city of Remscheid and in the Lippe district, due to deaths among candidates. These by-elections are scheduled for September 28, 2025 and will influence the political landscape in these regions.

Overall, it is to be hoped that the coming weeks and months will be a time of growth and cooperation for Cologne and its citizens. The next steps of the new council members and the possible new mayor will definitely be followed with excitement.

For more information about the election results and developments in Cologne, take a look at the reports from derwesten.de and WDR.