Essen Council: 82 Seats, 42 for Majority

Essen voters filled 82 seats on the City Council through a nationwide proportional representation system, Poliwave reported.

The entire chamber is elected in a single national district, with seats shared out in proportion to the total vote. A majority in the council requires 42 seats.

The Christian Democratic Union of Germany won the most seats, taking 25 seats with 30.2% of the vote. The Social Democratic Party of Germany secured 19 seats with 22.6% of the vote.

The Alternative for Germany won 14 seats with 16.9% of the vote.

Alliance 90/The Greens secured 10 seats with 12.3% of the vote. The Left won 5 seats with 5.8% of the vote. Essen Citizens’ Alliance – Free Voters and the Free Democratic Party each won 2 seats, taking 2.8% and 1.9% of the vote respectively. Die PARTEI won 1 seat with 1.8% of the vote.

Thomas Markus Kufen won the Essen mayoral election after securing 57.1% of the vote in the final round. He led the first round of voting with 42.3%. Julia Klewin finished second, taking 20.2% in the first round and reaching 42.9% in the final round.

Andreas Lojewski finished third in the first round with 15.8% of the vote. Inga Marie Sponheuer followed with 9.0%. Liesa Schulz took 4.9% of the vote, while Jörg Küpperfahrenberg received 3.5%. Mike Rohleder secured 2.8%, and Heiko Uwe Johannes Jürgen Müller received 1.5%.

Users can test different scenarios using the election simulator provided by Poliwave. The tool allows voters to choose an election starting point and adjust each party’s vote share. The simulator recalculates seat distribution automatically under the nationwide proportional representation rules. The tool operates without ads and is free to use.