Far-right AfD candidate elected mayor of German town

By Erbil Basay

BERLIN (AA) - A candidate from Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party was elected mayor of the town of Pirna in the eastern state of Saxony on Sunday.

In the second round of mayoral elections in Pirna, Tim Lochner, known for his anti-Islamic and far-right populist stance, competed against Kathrin Dollinger-Knuth from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Ralf Thiele, the candidate of the Freie Waehler (Free Voters) party.

Lochner secured 38.5% of the vote and Dollinger-Knuth received 31.4%, while Thiele obtained 30.1%.

It marked the first time that a candidate of the AfD has been elected mayor of a German town.

Voter turnout for the second round of elections in Pirna was reported to be 53.8%.

Although not a member of the AfD, Lochner was nominated by the party to run for mayor in Pirna, with a population of 40,000.

In the initial round of elections held on Nov. 26, Lochner received 32.9% of the vote, securing first place.

Previously, in the state of Thuringia, AfD member Robert Sesselmann was elected mayor of the town of Sonneberg, and in the small town of Raguhn-Jessnitz in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, AfD politician Hannes Loth became mayor.