Merz’s CDU set to win in NRW, AfD gaining ground – DW – 09/14/2025

Local elections in North Rhine-Westphalia take place every five years. There are about 13.7 million eligible voters, who will be choosing city and municipal councils, county councils, mayors and district administrators in altogether 427 municipalities.

How many candidates are up?

Voters will be choosing among 20,000 candidates representing all the five main parties, as well as groupings that operate only at a regional or municipal level and independents.

What are the five main parties taking part?

Candidates are being put forward, though not in all municipalities, by Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), his junior coalition partners the center-left Social Democrats, the socialist Left Party, the pro-environment Green Party, the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP) and the far-right populist Alternative for Germany (AfD).

What are the top contests?

The mayors of the state capital, Düsseldorf, and North Rhine-Westphalia’s most-populous city, Cologne, will be among the posts determined by the results of the election.

Why does it matter?

The local elections are seen as a barometer of political sentiment in Germany, with the anti-immigrant AfD under particular scrutiny.