The municipal elections on September 14, 2025 were followed by the run-off election on September 28
Information sheet on the run-off election (PDF)
The local elections in North Rhine-Westphalia 2025 on September 14 saw the election of new representatives at municipal, city and district level.
In the city of Aachen, it was about the position of the Lord Mayor, the City Council, which, like its predecessors, will decide on all important issues, the city's seven district councils and the Integration Council. In the StädteRegion, to which the city of Aachen and nine other municipalities belong, the Städteregionstag and the Städteregionrat were elected. The term of office for all bodies or persons newly elected in September 2025 is five years and ends on October 31, 2030.
As none of the candidates received more than half of the votes in the election for the office of Lord Mayor and City Councillor, another election was held on Sunday, September 28, the run-off election.
Information event in the Coronation Hall
After the polling stations closed at 6 p.m., the election assistants counted the votes cast - election by election in an officially established order. All counting results were forwarded to the City of Aachen's election headquarters in the Coronation Hall.
The Coronation Hall in Aachen Town Hall was open from 6 p.m. on both election days. All interested parties were invited to watch on large monitors as the provisional final results were compiled from the many individual results over the course of several hours.
Who was up for election?
Election of the Lord Mayor
The Lord Mayor represents the city, heads the administration, has a supervisory function for around 6,600 employees, is the chairperson and member of the council according to the law and has voting rights.
The following candidates are standing for election:
Sibylle Keupen (Greens), Dr. Michael Ziemons (CDU), Michael Servos (SPD), Wulf Pabst (FDP), Ellen Begolli (Die Linke), Alexandra Radermacher (Volt), Xenia Lehmann (Die PARTEI), Margarete Ute Haupts (UWG), Kirill Karasev (BSW) and Jörg Polzin as an individual candidate. (Order according to the ballot paper)There are around 186,000 eligible voters in a total of 33 constituencies and 224 polling districts. All Germans or EU citizens aged 16 and over who have their main place of residence in Aachen for at least 16 days before September 14 are eligible to vote.
A run-off election for the office of Lord Mayor on Sunday, September 28, will be necessary if no candidate receives more than half of the valid votes on September 14. The two candidates who achieve the best results on September 14 will meet again in the run-off election.
Election to the Aachen City Council
The council is the central representative body for all citizens, makes the main decisions on all important matters relating to the city and can issue bylaws - i.e. municipal law.
There are direct candidates and reserve lists from up to ten parties (in this order):
Grüne, CDU, SPD, FDP, Die Linke, AfD, Volt, Die PARTEI, UWG Aachen, BSW.
Voters have one vote with which they can vote for their direct candidates in the respective constituencies and at the same time for the parties' reserve lists.All Germans or EU citizens aged 16 and over who have their main place of residence in Aachen for at least 16 days before September 14 are eligible to vote.
Around 186,000 people in a total of 33 electoral districts in Aachen are eligible to vote.Election of the district representatives
The district councils decide on all matters whose significance does not extend significantly beyond the respective city district. They must take into account the interests of the city as a whole and decide within the framework of the general guidelines issued by the Council.
They are elected in the following districts:
Aachen-Mitte, -Brand, -Eilendorf, -Haaren, -Kornelimünster/Walheim, -Laurensberg and -Richterich.The elected district councils elect the district mayors from among their members.
All Germans or EU citizens aged 16 and over who have their main residence in one of the city districts for at least 16 days before September 14 are eligible to vote. Voters must therefore live in the respective district and have one vote with which they can vote for a party list. Around 186,000 people are eligible to vote in the seven districts in Aachen.
Election to the city council and the city region council
The StädteRegion Aachen is an association of municipalities and consists of the cities of Aachen, Alsdorf, Baesweiler, Eschweiler, Herzogenrath, Monschau, Stolberg and Würselen as well as the municipalities of Simmerath and Roetgen. The StädteRegion is the legal successor to the district of Aachen.
The city of Aachen occupies a special legal position and retains its status as an independent city. It has transferred some tasks, for example in the areas of youth, schools and healthcare, to the StädteRegion.
Städteregionstag:
Voters have one vote to elect the direct candidate in their constituency and the parties' reserve lists.City Councillor:
Voters have one vote to elect the direct candidate. The candidates are: Dr. Tim Grüttemeier (CDU), Janine Köster (SPD), Anna Karin Schmitt-Promny (Greens), Christoph Pontzen (FDP), Andreas Klöcker (AfD), Darius Karl Dunker (Die Linke), Johannes Hubertus Franke ("Hubert vom Venn") (Die PARTEI)Around 186,000 people can vote in 16 electoral districts within the city of Aachen. There are a total of 36 electoral districts in the StädteRegion.
All Germans or EU citizens aged 16 and over who have their main place of residence in Aachen for at least 16 days before September 14 are eligible to vote.Election of the Integration Council
The Integration Council represents migrants in Aachen. It can deal with all municipal matters, submit suggestions or statements to the council, a district council or a committee and is an advisory body for the city council and its committees.
Five list combinations and one individual candidate are up for election:
MIT-Aachen - Migrants for Integration and Participation; ADZ - Aachener Demokratische Zusammenarbeit; Barrierefrei, Brückenbauen, Inklusion und Vielfalt; Hevî - Hoffnung für Alle; individual candidate Ahmet Tarak; WIR für Chancengerechtigkeit und Integration.There are around 65,000 eligible voters in Aachen: Anyone who is at least 16 years old and has had their main residence in Aachen for at least 16 days before 14 September, is a foreign national or has obtained German citizenship through naturalization or in accordance with Section 4 (3) of the Citizenship Act is eligible to vote.
Overview of polling stations
On September 14 and 28, 162 polling stations were open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. where voters could cast their votes in person. The map also shows the barrier-free polling stations. In principle, you are only allowed to go to polling stations in the district in which you live.
Visually impaired and blind voters
Ballot papers for blind and visually impaired people are marked with a hole punch depending on the election. Templates can be ordered from the Association for the Visually Impaired and Blind. The ballot paper is fixed in the template and can then be read in Braille:
- Council 0 holes
- OB election 1 hole
- District representation 2 holes
- City Region DAY 3 holes
- City Council 4 holes
There is no template for the election of the Integration Council. In this case, an assistant may help with the election.
In principle, assistants may help with voting at the polling station as long as the person entitled to vote is able to express their wishes clearly.
Absentee ballot application
Anyone who applied for postal voting for both (!) local elections will automatically receive their postal voting documents, so they do not need to apply for new ones.
On-site voting possible from September 19
Citizens who were not in Aachen on election day were able to vote directly on site at the electoral office at Blücherplatz 43 or at any district office. The electoral office was already open on Friday, September 19, from 8 am to 1 pm and then with extended opening hours Monday to Friday from 8 am to 3 pm and on Wednesday from 8 am to 6 pm. The district offices were also available for voters during their regular opening hours from September 19.
Online absentee ballot application by September 24
Eligible voters in Aachen who had not applied for postal voting documents for both elections and wanted to vote by post in the run-off election could apply for them online at aachen.de/briefwahlantrag. It was possible to apply there until September 24, 11:59 pm.
Applications could also be submitted informally by letter or email to wahlen@mail.aachen.de until 3 p.m. on September 26, stating the first and last name, address, date of birth and any different shipping address.
Receipt of postal votes by September 28, 4 p.m. at the latest
The postal voting documents were sent out at the end of the week after the election committee of the StädteRegion met.
Postal voting documents had to be received by the electoral office by 4 p.m. at the latest on election Sunday. Until this time, the documents could also be deposited directly at the electoral office at Blücherplatz 43, at the district offices or in the municipal letterboxes at the town hall, Katschhof administration building or Bahnhof administration building. All other municipal letterboxes were emptied for the last time on September 27 at 12 noon!
Appointments in the event of loss or illness
Anyone who could provide credible evidence that the postal voting documents had not been received could collect postal voting documents from the electoral office until Saturday, September 27, 12 noon at the latest. After this time, it was no longer possible to obtain a new polling card. A blocking note was entered in the electoral roll, meaning that it was not possible to vote at the polling station on election Sunday.
Only in exceptional cases, for example if someone suddenly fell ill, could an application for a postal vote be submitted by 3 p.m. on election Sunday, September 28 at the latest. The election letter with the corresponding ballot papers for the run-off election had to be received by the electoral office or the district office by 4 p.m. on Sunday at the latest.
Public announcements 2025
- Election announcement for local elections on September 14, 2025
- Election announcement Integration Council election on September 14, 2025
- Admitted nominations for the election of the Lord Mayor and the City of Aachen's representatives and district councils
- Approved nominations for the integration council election
- Admitted election proposals for the election of the City Region Councillor and the representation of the City Region of Aachen in the City Region of Aachen
- Announcement on the right to inspect the electoral roll and issue polling cards for the election of the Aachen City Council, the district councils and the Lord Mayor of the City of Aachen as well as for the election of the City Council and the City Council of the City of Aachen on 14.09.2025
- Announcement on the right to inspect the electoral roll and issue polling cards for the election of the Integration Council of the City of Aachen on 14.09.2025
Become a poll worker!
City of Aachen
As an election assistant, you are part of an election committee of six to nine people. In various roles, you work together to ensure that the election is conducted properly. Polling assistants can be deployed in a polling station or a postal voting station.
Citizens' petition
With a citizens' initiative, citizens of a municipality apply to decide on a matter in the form of a referendum instead of the council. Anyone who is eligible to vote in municipal elections in Aachen can submit a petition for a referendum in Aachen. If a referendum is held, the city must provide comprehensive information to all those entitled to vote. The City of Aachen has made the provision that all those entitled to vote receive a so-called "voting booklet" with the notification of the day of the vote.
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