Overview

• About 13.7 million eligible voters are choosing mayors, councils, district bodies and the Ruhrparlament across 396 municipalities, with polls open from 08:00 to 18:00.
• Municipalities report sharply higher demand for postal voting, including roughly 33% of voters in Cologne, 29% in Münster, 28% in Aachen and 24% in Essen after an 11‑point jump aided by QR-code applications.
• Election offices stress that postal ballots must be deposited in designated drop boxes by 16:00 on Sunday to be counted, as regular mail will arrive too late.
• First projections are expected after polls close at 18:00, with early results through the evening and potential runoffs for mayoral and district races set for September 28 if no candidate tops 50%.
• Polls and analysts anticipate notable AfD gains statewide (Forsa around 14%), with particular attention on turnout in Ruhr cities such as Duisburg and Gelsenkirchen; Chancellor Friedrich Merz says he will draw lessons from the results.