Overview

• CDU’s Alexander Omar Kalouti defeated SPD incumbent Thomas Westphal in Dortmund with about 52.9% to 47.1%, ending nearly eight decades of SPD control.
• The SPD recaptured Cologne as Torsten Burmester beat Green candidate Berivan Aymaz with roughly 53.5% to 46.5%.
• The AfD lost all three mayoral runoffs it reached — in Duisburg, Gelsenkirchen and Hagen — despite a first-round vote-share surge.
• The Greens secured Münster’s mayoralty with Tilman Fuchs but lost previously held posts in Bonn and Aachen to the CDU.
• A counting correction in Mülheim now places CDU incumbent Marc Buchholz ahead, with ultra‑narrow margins in Siegen and Datteln raising the prospect of recounts as national and state leaders review the results.