Braunschweig: results of the 2026 local elections and the 2025 federal election
In the local elections on 13 September 2026, SPD became the largest group on the council of Braunschweig with 27.6% (15 of 56 seats).
In the federal election on 23 February 2025, SPD led in Braunschweig with 22.6% of the second votes, CDU took 22.6%.
- Lord Mayor
- Thorsten Kornblum (SPD), since 2021 · Wikidata
- Population
- 252,811 · 1,312 per km²
- Turnout
- 83.4% · Braunschweig, Stadt (Wkr. 050) 83.4% · Germany 82.5%
- Voters
- 155,402 of 186,358 eligible voters
- Stands out against Lower Saxony
- Grüne +6.5 · CDU −5.5 · AfD −4.5
- First votes: leading
- SPD candidate
- Constituency
- 50 Braunschweig
2026 local elections in Braunschweig
On 13 September 2026, Lower Saxony elected its councils, district councils, mayors and district administrators. Below, the preliminary result for Braunschweig, as of 25.09.2026 15:03. All districts and municipalities: Lower Saxony local elections 2026.
- Largest group: city council
- SPD 27.6% · 15 of 56 seats
- Lord mayor, run-off
- Dr. Thorsten Kornblum (SPD), 75.6%
- Turnout
- 64.5%
Turnout 64.5% · 194,218 eligible voters · 56 seats · Official final result · 268 of 268 results
Source: Stadt Braunschweig, Local elections 2026, official results presentation (votemanager) (file), final result, retrieved 31 Oct 2026, official work, § 5 UrhG. Electoral authority status: 25.09.2026 15:03. Electoral authority's result portal: https://votemanager.kdo.de/20260913/03101000/praesentation/ Compiled by wahlergebnisse.io.
Lord mayor election Braunschweig
Decided in the run-off on 27 September 2026: Dr. Thorsten Kornblum (SPD) with 75.6%.
Run-off 27 September 2026
- Dr. Kornblum, SPD75.6%
- Pohler, CDU24.4%
Turnout 39.3% · 194,071 eligible voters · Official final result · 268 of 268 results
First round 13 September 2026
Turnout 64.5% · 194,218 eligible voters · Official final result · 268 of 268 results
Second votes in Braunschweig
Shares in percent of valid second votes, deviation from the state result in points. Others: all parties not listed individually.
Where do these figures come from?
Official results of the 2025 federal election from the Federal Returning Officer's polling-district statistics, aggregated to the municipality. Postal votes counted by a joint administration are shown on that administration's page.
What does the comparison show?
The lighter bar is the state result of the same election, so you can see where the area differs from its state. Differences are in percentage points.
| Party | Votes | Share | District | Lower Saxony | Germany |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPD | 34,994 | 22.6% | 22.6% | 23.0% (-0.4) | 16.4% (+6.2) |
| CDU | 34,958 | 22.6% | 22.6% | 28.1% (-5.5) | 22.6% (±0) |
| Grüne | 27,788 | 18.0% | 18.0% | 11.5% (+6.5) | 11.6% (+6.4) |
| AfD | 20,624 | 13.3% | 13.3% | 17.8% (-4.5) | 20.8% (-7.5) |
| Linke | 17,978 | 11.6% | 11.6% | 8.1% (+3.5) | 8.8% (+2.8) |
| FDP | 6,151 | 4.0% | 4.0% | 4.1% (-0.1) | 4.3% (-0.3) |
| BSW | 5,966 | 3.9% | 3.9% | 3.8% (+0.1) | 5.0% (-1.1) |
| Volt | 1,729 | 1.1% | 1.1% | 0.6% (+0.5) | – |
| Freie Wähler | 799 | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.8% (-0.3) | – |
| Others | 3,583 | 2.3% | 2.3% | 2.2% (+0.1) | 10.6% (-8.3) |
Source: Federal Returning Officer, 2025 federal election, results by polling district (file), final result, retrieved 7 Sep 2026, Data licence Germany, attribution 2.0. Municipal results are the sum of a municipality's polling districts including the postal-vote districts assigned to it. State and federal results: Federal Returning Officer, kerg2.csv, official final result. Compiled by wahlergebnisse.io.
2024 European election in Braunschweig
In the European election on 9 June 2024, CDU came first in Braunschweig with 22.4% of the vote; in Lower Saxony CDU got 31.4%. The bars show the European election shares, the small figures the gap to the 2025 federal election in the same area.
In the 2024 European election, CDU was the strongest party in Braunschweig with 22.4%, −0.2 points compared with the 2025 federal election. Turnout was 66.1% (2025 federal election: 83.4%).
Why do the European and federal elections differ?
The European election has no electoral threshold, so small parties such as Volt, Die PARTEI or the animal-welfare party win more votes. Turnout is much lower, and the political mood shifted between June 2024 and February 2025. The single European-election vote is compared with the second vote of the federal election in the same area; parties that count as Others in 2025 get no difference.
Where do these figures come from?
Official final result of the 2024 European election from the Federal Returning Officer's polling-district statistics, aggregated to the municipality. Postal votes counted by a joint administration are not included here.
| Party | Votes 2024 | European election 2024 | Federal election 2025 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CDU | 28,003 | 22.4% | 22.6% | -0.2 |
| SPD | 25,264 | 20.2% | 22.6% | -2.4 |
| Grüne | 22,661 | 18.1% | 18.0% | +0.1 |
| AfD | 12,026 | 9.6% | 13.3% | -3.7 |
| FDP | 7,215 | 5.8% | 4.0% | +1.8 |
| Volt | 6,345 | 5.1% | 1.1% | +4.0 |
| BSW | 5,368 | 4.3% | 3.9% | +0.4 |
| Linke | 3,929 | 3.1% | 11.6% | -8.5 |
| Die PARTEI | 3,436 | 2.7% | – | – |
| Tierschutzpartei | 2,120 | 1.7% | – | – |
| Freie Wähler | 853 | 0.7% | 0.5% | +0.2 |
| ÖDP | 705 | 0.6% | – | – |
| Others | 7,266 | 5.8% | – | – |
Die PARTEI, Tierschutzpartei, ÖDP: counted as Others in the 2025 federal election, so no difference is shown.
Source: Federal Returning Officer, 2024 European election, results by polling district (file), final result, retrieved 28 Sep 2026, Data licence Germany, attribution 2.0. Municipal results are the sum of a municipality's polling districts including assigned postal-vote districts; Hamburg's boroughs are derived from the polling-district number. Comparison values: second votes of the 2025 federal election in the same area. Compiled by wahlergebnisse.io.
Braunschweig in figures
Key facts about the place from official statistics and Wikidata, so the election result can be put in context. The figures describe, they do not explain.
- Population
- 252,811 (as of 2025-12-31)
- Area
- 192.7 km²
- Population density
- 1,312 inhabitants per km²
- Settlement type
- densely populated (city)
- Under 19
- 15.6%
- 67 and older
- 19.0%
- Foreign nationals (2022 census)
- 11.5%
- Employees subject to social insurance (place of work)
- 136,719 (as of 2025-06-30)
- Commuter balance
- +29,657 (more in-commuters than out-commuters)
- Unemployment rate
- 6.7% (as of 2026-09)
- Volkswagen Financial Services
- 8,600 employees (2019)
- Nord/LB
- 6,427 employees (2016-12-31)
- Volkswagen Bank
- 955 employees (2016-12-31)
- Volksbank Braunschweig Wolfsburg
- 760 employees (2016-12-31)
- Braunschweigische Landessparkasse
- 685 employees (2016-12-31)
- Postcode
- 38100
- Elevation
- 73 m
- First mention or foundation
- 861
- Twin towns
- 1
- Website
- www.braunschweig.de
- Wikipedia
- Braunschweig (Wikipedia)
Braunschweig has 252,811 inhabitants and is densely populated (city). The largest company headquartered in Braunschweig is Volkswagen Financial Services with 8,600 employees. The unemployment rate is 6.7%.
Where do the profile figures come from?
Population, area and coordinates from the Federal Statistical Office's municipality register, employees, sectors and unemployment from the Federal Employment Agency, age structure from the 2022 census, coat of arms, website and companies from Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons. All sources are openly licensed and linked below the list.
Does the profile explain the election result?
No. It describes the place so readers can put figures in context. Whether sector, age or density relate to voting can only be tested across many places, not from a single result.
Sources: Wikidata (CC0 1.0) · Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis), Gemeindeverzeichnis GV-ISys (Datenlizenz Deutschland – Namensnennung – Version 2.0) · Statistik der Bundesagentur für Arbeit (© Statistik der Bundesagentur für Arbeit, Nutzung mit Quellenangabe) · Zensus 2022, Statistische Ämter des Bundes und der Länder, Regionaltabelle Demografie (Datenlizenz Deutschland – Namensnennung – Version 2.0)
Braunschweig: location in the Braunschweig district
All municipalities of the district, coloured by the strongest party of the second votes. Braunschweig highlighted. Tap to open a neighbouring municipality.
Braunschweig: if the election were held today
The current national polling average (as of 7 Nov 2026) applied to the municipality's 2025 second-vote result. A rough estimate without local factors.
Grüne would be the strongest party with 23.4%; in 2025 SPD led.
Method: proportional swing of the national polling average, see constituency nowcast.