In Gelsenkirchen, the city council has surprisingly elected AfD politician Norbert Emmerich as deputy mayor. He received three additional votes from other parties beyond his faction's support. This allowed him to prevail over the SPD-CDU joint candidate.
The city council in Gelsenkirchen has appointed AfD's Norbert Emmerich as second deputy mayor in a secret ballot. Emmerich, the AfD faction leader, garnered 23 votes: all from his group plus three more from unidentified sources. The joint SPD-CDU ticket, featuring Manfred Leichtweis first and Werner Wöll second, secured 43 votes.
Under the D'Hondt method, which counts only half the votes for the second position, Emmerich's tally sufficed to edge out Wöll. Speaking to WDR afterward, Emmerich expressed shock: "I'm surprised, words fail me. I didn't expect we'd get three more votes than we have in the council."
The 72-year-old former bank clerk served as an honorary council member from 2020 to 2025 and lost a runoff for mayor against Andrea Henze. In his new role, he will handle substitute duties for the mayor at official events. The outcome highlights the council's unpredictable dynamics, despite efforts by mainstream parties to block AfD involvement.
