The Left Party won Berlin’s state election with 25.7%, its first victory in an election for the city-state’s parliament, with Elif Eralp emerging as the party’s lead candidate
The AfD won 38.2% in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, securing its second state-election victory this month after its win in Saxony-Anhalt
The contrasting results leave Germany with sharply different electoral outcomes across regions, with the Left leading in the capital while the AfD topped the vote in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and earlier in Saxony-Anhalt
The Left Party emerged as the largest party in Berlin’s state election on Sunday, securing 25.7% of the vote under lead candidate Elif Eralp, as the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) recorded another strong result in eastern Germany.
According to the official Berlin election authority, the Left Party won 25.7% of the second votes, ahead of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) at 18.8%, the AfD at 16.3% and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) at 12.1%. The result was based on the preliminary count released on Monday.
Eralp, 45, is of Turkish origin and was born in Munich in 1981. Her parents had moved to Germany from Türkiye after the 1980 military coup. She grew up in Dortmund and Hamburg and entered Berlin’s state parliament in 2021.
The result puts Eralp in contention to become Berlin’s first governing mayor with a migrant background, though the Left Party did not secure enough seats to govern alone and would need coalition partners.
AfD Gains In The East
The Berlin result came after strong performances by the AfD in eastern Germany.
In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the AfD won 38.2% of the vote in Sunday’s state election, ahead of the SPD, which secured 35.5%, according to the state election authority. The AfD won 14 constituency mandates and 22 seats through the second-vote system, taking 36 seats in the 83-member state parliament.
In Saxony-Anhalt, where elections were held on September 6, the AfD received 43.8% of the second votes, according to the state election authority. It won 39 seats in the 83-member state parliament, making it the largest parliamentary group.
The contrasting results in Berlin and the eastern states have drawn attention to the different electoral performances of parties on Germany’s political left and far right.
Eralp’s Berlin Campaign
Eralp centred her campaign on issues including housing costs, rents and transport. She proposed measures including rent controls for city-owned apartments and plans to bring large housing companies into public ownership.
She also presented the election as a response to the AfD’s gains in eastern Germany after its result in Saxony-Anhalt, describing herself as an answer to the AfD’s rise.
The Berlin result does not by itself determine who will become the city-state’s governing mayor. The Left Party will need to form a coalition, with the SPD and Greens being potential partners.
The elections have therefore produced markedly different results across Germany, with the Left Party leading the vote in the capital while the AfD secured the largest vote share in both Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
