CDU wins Lower Saxony local elections; AfD places third

On 14 September 2026 local elections in the German state of Lower Saxony delivered a clear lead for the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which emerged as the strongest party with 27.2 percent of the vote.

Gains for AfD, turnout jumps

The Social Democrats (SPD) finished second with 24.6 percent, while Alternative for Germany (AfD) took third place with 15.9 percent. The Greens won 14.1 percent, The Left 6.0 percent and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) 3.7 percent.

Turnout rose sharply to 64.6 percent, up from 57.0 percent at the comparable district elections in 2021. About 6.3 million citizens were eligible to vote in this round.

Compared with 2021 results, the CDU and SPD both lost some support: in 2021 the CDU had 31.7 percent and the SPD 30.0 percent. The Greens had 15.9 percent in 2021, the FDP 6.5 percent, AfD 4.6 percent and The Left 2.8 percent.

The performance of AfD—its strongest local showing to date in Lower Saxony—adds to a streak of notable results for the party at regional level. One week earlier, AfD scored nearly 44 percent in state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, where the CDU fell to about 17 percent.

Voters in Lower Saxony were choosing a total of 29,501 seats across 2,182 local representative bodies. In addition, 395 direct contests decided mayors, chief mayors, district administrators and the president of the Hanover region.

Observers view the local results as an important indicator of voter sentiment ahead of next year’s state parliamentary elections in Lower Saxony. Before that, elections for the Berlin House of Representatives and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are scheduled for the following week.

Photo: press material from the event