Dresden (dpa / sn) - In the mayoral election in Dresden, there is a lower turnout. By Sunday noon, 28.3 percent of those entitled to vote had cast their votes, as the city stated on its website. In the first ballot in mid-June, it was already about one in three (33.2 percent). Postal votes are included.
Because none of the candidates received more than 50 percent in the first round, the people of Dresden were again asked to vote on their future mayor on Sunday. A close race is expected between incumbent Dirk Hilbert (FDP) and Eva Jähnigen (Greens).
Hilbert, who stands for the "Independent Citizens for Dresden" alliance and is supported by the CDU, was clearly ahead in the first round on July 12 with 32.5 percent and kept environmental mayor Jähnigen (18.9 percent) at a distance. The Green politician is now supported by the SPD and the left, whose candidates have not run again.
A simple majority is now enough to become mayor of Dresden. In addition to Hilbert and Jähnigen, the AfD politician Maximilian Krah, Jan Pönisch (The Party) and the individual candidate Marcus Fuchs - organizer of the Dresden lateral thinking demonstrations - also appear. However, none of them are given any chances.
The polling stations are open until 6 p.m.
