Kiel is voting on Sunday: Nine candidates for mayor!

Kiel is voting on Sunday: Nine candidates for mayor!

Next Sunday, November 13, 2025, a new mayor will be elected in Kiel. This election is particularly exciting because there are nine candidates, the highest number of candidates in the city's history. The incumbent mayor Ulf Kampf (SPD), who has led the city for several years, is not running for re-election and is switching to state politics. This will change the political face of Kiel.

Voters should get to the polling stations early, which are open on Sunday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Around 190,000 Kiel residents aged 16 and over are eligible to vote. In order to determine the new mayor, the winner needs an absolute majority of at least 50 percent of the votes. If no candidate achieves this majority, a runoff election will be necessary on December 7th.

The candidates at a glance

The exciting election coverage highlights some interesting personalities vying for office:

• Ulf Daude (SPD): Spitzenkandidat der Kieler SPD, war zuvor Referatsleiter in der Staatskanzlei und Schulleiter.
• Gerrit Derkowski (parteilos): Unterstützt von CDU und FDP, hat eine ehemalige Karriere als Moderator beim NDR hinter sich.
• Björn Thoroe (Die Linke): Ehemaliger Landtagsabgeordneter und Mitglied der Kieler Ratsversammlung.
• Hubert Pinto de Kraus (AfD): Ehemaliger Ausbilder und Soldat bei der Marine.
• Samet Yilmaz (Die Grünen): Früherer Referatsleiter im Innenministerium und Fraktionsvorsitzender der Grünen.
• Florian Wrobel (Die Partei): Kandidat seit November 2024.
• Marcel Schmidt (SSW): Pensionierter Polizeihauptkommissar und Vorsitzender der Kieler SSW-Ratsfraktion.
• Viola Ketelsen (Volt): Freiberufliche Prozessbegleiterin und Projektmanagerin.
• Ansgar Stalder (Die Basis): Mitglied des Kieler Stadtrats seit Mai 2023, der im öffentlichen Dienst arbeitet.

The political scientist Wilhelm Knelangen has already commented on the election chances and estimates that a runoff election is to be expected due to the large number of candidates. Election day is therefore likely to be particularly exciting, as the votes could be distributed among many people.

The election workers and organization

To ensure that the election runs smoothly, around 1,350 volunteer election workers are on duty. They will ensure that everything runs smoothly and that the counting of votes can begin immediately after the polling stations close at 6 p.m. The first results of the counting are expected around 8 p.m.

The political mood is already running high in the city of Kiel and voters are called upon to cast their votes. It remains to be seen who will win the race and what strategy the new leaders will use to tackle the challenges of the coming years.

For the voters in Kiel, the election adventure begins on Sunday - an opportunity to raise their voices and take an active part in shaping their city!