Soest's elections: CDU defeat and the mystery surrounding the voters!

Soest's elections: CDU defeat and the mystery surrounding the voters!

The local elections in Soest are over and the results are making the rounds. In the secret hope of victory, the CDU lost under the leadership of Helena Brüggemann, who had expected her defeat but did not publicly announce it. Many in the party are now being asked to critically examine the reasons for the loss. [soester-anzeiger] reports that self-criticism and confessions about wrong decisions would have been helpful for Brüggemann.

Overall, voter turnout in Soest was pleasingly high and above the national average. Despite all this, the figures show that around 21,000 people in Soester were not interested in electing the new mayor. This is a clear mandate for the council groups to develop and implement good ideas in order to inspire citizens again. At the same time, parties warned during the election campaign against stigmatizing people who did not distance themselves from the AfD. The increased voter turnout was particularly noticeable in the Hattrop district, where over 70% of eligible voters cast their votes, while the AfD remained below 5% there.

The election results at a glance

The local elections took place on Sunday, September 28, 2025. The polls closed at 6 p.m. and counting began immediately afterward. The runoff elections were particularly exciting, as the results of the mayoral and council elections in Soest sometimes differed greatly. In Soest, several candidates ran against Eckhard Ruthemeyer (CDU), although the necessary support for an absolute majority in the first round of voting was not present.

If we take a look at the other results, it can be seen that the role of the AfD has also increased in importance throughout the Soest district, as it now occupies third place. Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) stated that the CDU will continue to exist as the “number one local party”, but that issues such as poverty migration and problem real estate must be seriously addressed. One point of concern remains the AfD's high number of votes, which was particularly pointed out by the SPD co-state chairman Achim Post, who underlined the dissatisfaction of the "centre parties" with the results [hellwegradio].

The next few weeks will show whether the political actors in Soest will accept the challenges in order to bring their citizens closer to politics again. A comprehensive discussion about expectations and strategies is necessary so that support among citizens is not further eroded. It remains exciting to see how the new political landscape in North Rhine-Westphalia will emerge, and the upcoming alignments will shed light on how the needs of the electorate can be met in the future [wdr].