Runoff election in Potsdam: Aubel vs. Fischer – Who will be the new mayor?

Runoff election in Potsdam: Aubel vs. Fischer – Who will be the new mayor?

On September 21, 2025, the people of Potsdam elected a new mayor and the vote produced an exciting result. The independent Noosha Aubel achieved the best result among the candidates with 26,839 votes, i.e. 34 percent. You don't always make the right choice on the first try, as none of the applicants was able to achieve an absolute majority. Therefore, there will now be a decisive runoff election on October 12, 2025, in which Aubel will face the SPD candidate Dr. Severin Fischer has to run, who received 13,390 votes (16.9 percent) in the first round of voting. maz-online.de reports that the former mayor Mike Schubert (SPD) was voted out in May, which made the new election necessary.

A total of 142,889 Potsdam residents were eligible to vote in this election. On election day, 79,240 of them cast their votes, which means a voter turnout of around 55.5 percent. Of these votes, only 238 were invalid, while 79,002 were valid. The election committee and the returning officer, Dr. Stefan Tolksdorf, announced in the official gazette on September 30, 2025. Further details about the election can be found on the Potsdam city website: potsdam.de.

The eligible voters

To take part in the election, Potsdam residents had to be at least 16 years old, have their main residence in Potsdam and have either German or EU citizenship. These requirements are in the regulations of Brandenburg local election law anchored. The right to vote also includes automatic registration for those who were registered in Potsdam up to 42 days before the election.

Regarding the runoff election, the election notifications for the main election were also considered valid. Around 27,200 postal voting documents will be sent to eligible voters to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to cast their vote. The postal voting office is open from Monday to Thursday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Friday until 2 p.m. On the last day, October 10th, the office will also be available until 6 p.m.

In the context of the upcoming runoff election, a live discussion between the two candidates will also take place on October 9th at 5:30 p.m., which will certainly provide additional momentum in the election campaign. Mayor Burkhard Exner will manage the city's business until the new mayor is appointed. The people of Potsdam can be curious to see how the election on October 12th will develop and whether the new face in the town hall can lead the city on new paths.