Overview

• Nearly 150 mayoral, lord‑mayor and district runoffs are scheduled across North Rhine‑Westphalia on Sunday, decided by simple plurality after no candidate cleared 50 percent in the first round.
• In Duisburg, incumbent Sören Link (SPD) faces AfD candidate Carsten Groß after taking about 46 percent to roughly 20 percent in round one, while Gelsenkirchen pits SPD’s Andrea Henze against AfD’s Norbert Emmerich and Hagen matches CDU’s Dennis Rehbein with AfD’s Michael Eiche.
• SPD and CDU leaders have said they will back each other in selected contests to keep AfD candidates from top municipal offices.
• In Siegen, AfD council group leader Roland Steffe publicly recommended voting for SPD challenger Tristan Vitt against long‑serving CDU mayor Steffen Mues, an unusual move for the party.
• The Greens target high‑profile gains, including a possible first Green mayor in Cologne with Berivan Aymaz against SPD’s Torsten Burmester, alongside competitive runoffs in Düsseldorf and Münster and a closely watched challenge in CDU stronghold Paderborn.