The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has won its first ever mayoral election in the state of Brandenburg.
On Sunday, René Stadtkewitz was elected mayor of the small town of Zehdenick with an outright majority. He secured 58.4 per cent of the vote, more than twice as much as his nearest rival. Voter turnout in the municipal election was reportedly just over fifty percent.
The victory makes Stadtkewitz the first directly elected and currently the only full-time AfD mayor in the state of Brandenburg.
While the state previously had a mayor who later joined the AfD, that politician, Arne Raue in JĂĽterbog, had run as an independent when elected and only became an AfD member years later before moving to the Bundestag in 2025.
Stadtkewitz prevailed against three other candidates in the first round of voting. FDP candidate Stephan von Hundelshausen came second with 28.6 percent, followed by independent Wolf-Gernot Richardt with 7.8 percent and Dennis Latzke of the Party of Progress with 5.2 percent.
The Brandenburg Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies the AfD as a confirmed far-right extremist organisation, a designation the party is currently contesting in court.
AfD state chairman René Springer described the Zehdenick result as an “unmistakable signal” and a “preview” of future electoral successes at local level, according to a report by ARD.
Other parties reacted with caution. FDP state chairman Zyon Braun described his party’s result as a “respectable success” but warned that the AfD victory cast a shadow over the town’s future direction. He characterised the result as a protest vote following a bitter campaign.
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Who is the new mayor?
René Stadtkewitz is a Berlin native who moved to Zehdenick with his family less than a year before entering the mayoral race. He has sat on the town council since summer 2024 and chairs the committee for urban development and construction.
But Stadtkewitz’s political career stretches back decades. He was previously a CDU member of the Berlin parliament before breaking with the party in 2010. He later founded the right‑wing party Die Freiheit, which failed to enter the Berlin state parliament, and then joined the AfD in 2024.
Politically he has taken positions opposed to immigration from Muslin-majority countries, in opposition to mosque construction in Berlin, and in support of other far-right leaders like Dutch politician Geert Wilders.
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Three mayors in five yearsÂ
Zehdenick, around 60 kilometres north of Berlin, has seen three mayors in five years, following resignations, illness and a recall referendum. The last mayor, Alexander Kretzschmar, was voted out after being unable to perform his duties due to long-term illness.
Traditionally known as the “Havelstadt” and a former centre of Europe’s brick industry, Zehdenick today is home to local tourism, manufacturing and small industry.
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