Overview

• Voters in 147 cities and districts returned to the polls for second‑round mayoral and district leadership elections across North Rhine‑Westphalia.
• In Duisburg, incumbent Sören Link (SPD) defeated AfD challenger Carsten Groß with 78.57% to 21.43% after all votes were counted.
• In Wuppertal, Miriam Scherff was declared the next mayor, leading at roughly 75% as the tally advanced toward completion.
• Counts continued in closely watched AfD runoffs in Gelsenkirchen and Hagen, with participation notably higher in Gelsenkirchen (38.34% at 14:30) and Duisburg (35.03% at 14:00) than in previous runoffs.
• Additional results included Markus Lask winning Südlohn with 53.0% and CDU’s Stefanie Holz taking Nordkirchen with 54.2%.