On Sunday, Saxony state parliament member André Barth (AfD)
won the mayoral election in the winter sports resort of
Altenberg by a clear margin. According to preliminary results published by the
city administration on its website,
the 56-year-old won 61.8 per cent of the vote. Voter turnout
was surprisingly high for a local election at 70.8 per cent.
Although the AfD politician had four opponents in the Saxon town,
he achieved the required absolute majority in the first round of voting
and even exceeded it by a significant margin.
The independent candidate Johanna Franz came in a distant second
with 21.3 per cent. The other three candidates also do not belong to any
party, only to a voters’ association.
Barth had previously served as acting mayor of the town.The previous incumbent, Markus Wiesenberg (CDU), resigned in the summer of 2025 because he felt blocked by the town council. The AfD politician then took over as his deputy.
The lawyer has been a member of the Saxon state parliament for the AfD since 2014. Until 2010, Barth was a member of the SPD.
In Saxony, the AfD now has its third city leader. In Großschirma, Rolf Weigand won the mayoral election. And in Pirna, citizens elected Tim Lochner, an independent candidate running for the AfD, as mayor.