Overview

• Noosha Aubel, running as an independent, won the Potsdam runoff with 72.9% to SPD candidate Severin Fischer’s 27.1%, carrying all 131 districts as turnout reached 42.5% (60,803 voters).
• Independent Axel Strasser secured Frankfurt (Oder) with 69.8% against AfD’s Wilko Möller (30.2%), preventing the party’s first mayoralty; turnout was 49.4%.
• SPD officials labeled the Potsdam result a “klare Klatsche,” pointing to the May recall of former mayor Mike Schubert as a significant drag on their campaign.
• Aubel set near‑term priorities of overhauling city administration and expanding affordable housing, including a new housing agency, while Strasser emphasized economic revival and closer cross‑border ties with Poland.
• Municipal election boards are set to certify results this week before winners formally accept office; Eisenhüttenstadt also chose non‑party candidate Marko Henkel over an AfD contender.