Three candidates in the mayoral election in Meißen

The city of Meißen is looking for a new mayor. Now that the non-party incumbent Olaf Rasche is no longer standing after 21 years, an exciting race is expected. Three candidates are standing for election. Martin Bahrmann (38) is running for the FDP, Markus Renner (45) is independent and René Jurisch (51) is not a member of the AfD, but is running for this party.

AfD reckons it has a good chance

Since the AfD became the strongest force in Meißen in the city council elections in June 2024 with around 32.9 percent, it now also reckons it has a good chance of being elected mayor. The fact that Jurisch was briefly a member of the far-right NPD around 25 years ago has attracted attention, but this is no obstacle for the AfD. It describes Jurisch as a "Meissen veteran".

"Meissen is the cradle of Saxony and therefore probably also one of the most important and, above all, most beautiful and oldest cities in the Free State. As a native and local building contractor, I know almost all the problems and also the many sunny sides of the city," the AfD quoted its candidate after the nomination. If elected, the building contractor wants to see himself as an employee of the citizens and run the office accordingly.

It is difficult to assess the prospects of the other two candidates. FDP candidate Bahrmann received 14.9 percent of the vote in the first round of the last mayoral election and 13.6 percent in the second round. Markus Renner has been Mayor of Finance since 2016 and, as Raschke's deputy, is most familiar with the matter. He enjoys support from other parties.

Second round of voting scheduled for September 28

If none of the three candidates receives an absolute majority on Sunday, a second round of voting will be required on September 28. The candidate who receives the most votes will then win.

The AfD won the top seat in a Saxon town hall for the first time in December 2023. In Pirna, this was also achieved with the non-party candidate Tim Lochner. The AfD in Saxony is classified as right-wing extremist by the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution. It has so far unsuccessfully defended itself legally against this.