Bochum: the 2025 federal election result
In the federal election on 23 February 2025, SPD led in Bochum with 24.5% of the second votes, CDU took 23.3%.
- Lord Mayor
- Jörg Lukat (SPD), since 2025 · Wikidata
- Population
- 358,880 · 2,464 per km²
- Turnout
- 81.3% · Bochum, Stadt (Wkr. 139, 140) 81.3% · Germany 82.5%
- Voters
- 214,915 of 264,445 eligible voters
- Stands out against North Rhine-Westphalia
- CDU −6.8 · SPD +4.5 · Linke +3.2
- First votes: leading
- SPD candidate
- Constituencies
- 139 Bochum I, 140 Herne – Bochum II
North Rhine-Westphalia local elections 2025: result in Bochum
Official result of the election of 14 September 2025, run-offs on 28 September 2025, from the data of Die Landeswahlleiterin des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen, IT.NRW. Overview of all districts.
- Largest list in the Rat der Stadt
- SPD 28.1% (26/92)
- Oberbürgermeister, run-off
- Lukat, Jörg (SPD, GRÜNE), 64.7%
- Turnout
- 55.0%
Turnout 55.0% · 281,567 eligible voters · 92 seats
Source: Die Landeswahlleiterin des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen, IT.NRW, Kommunalwahlen 2025 in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Endgültige Ergebnisse (Downloads) (file), final result, retrieved 3 Nov 2026, Amtliches Werk (§ 5 UrhG), Quellenangabe. Direktwahlen: nur Sieger und Stichwahl-Gegner mit Prozent; Wählergruppen als Summe. Compiled by wahlergebnisse.io.
Oberbürgermeister election Bochum
The state returning officer publishes only the winner and the run-off opponent with their share; all candidates are listed on the municipality's election portal.
Run-off 28 September 2025
- Lukat, Jörg, SPD, GRÜNE64.7%
- Bracke, Dr. Andreas, CDU35.3%
First round 14 September 2025
- Lukat, Jörg, SPD, GRÜNE43.1%
- Bracke, Dr. Andreas, CDU22.9%
Second votes in Bochum
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 | North Rhine-Westphalia | Germany |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPD | 52,336 | 24.5% | 24.5% | 20.0% (+4.5) | 16.4% (+8.1) |
| CDU | 49,751 | 23.3% | 23.3% | 30.1% (-6.8) | 22.6% (+0.7) |
| AfD | 32,519 | 15.2% | 15.2% | 16.8% (-1.6) | 20.8% (-5.6) |
| Grüne | 29,571 | 13.8% | 13.8% | 12.4% (+1.4) | 11.6% (+2.2) |
| Linke | 24,641 | 11.5% | 11.5% | 8.3% (+3.2) | 8.8% (+2.7) |
| BSW | 8,651 | 4.0% | 4.0% | 4.1% (-0.1) | 5.0% (-1.0) |
| FDP | 7,543 | 3.5% | 3.5% | 4.4% (-0.9) | 4.3% (-0.8) |
| Volt | 1,490 | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.7% (±0) | – |
| Freie Wähler | 665 | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.5% (-0.2) | – |
| Others | 6,481 | 3.0% | 3.0% | 2.7% (+0.3) | 10.6% (-7.6) |
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 Bochum
In the European election on 9 June 2024, CDU came first in Bochum with 23.4% of the vote; in North Rhine-Westphalia CDU got 31.2%. 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 Bochum with 23.4%, +0.1 points compared with the 2025 federal election. Turnout was 63.2% (2025 federal election: 81.3%).
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 | 39,586 | 23.4% | 23.3% | +0.1 |
| SPD | 36,964 | 21.9% | 24.5% | -2.6 |
| Grüne | 26,420 | 15.6% | 13.8% | +1.8 |
| AfD | 20,173 | 11.9% | 15.2% | -3.3 |
| FDP | 8,160 | 4.8% | 3.5% | +1.3 |
| BSW | 7,031 | 4.2% | 4.0% | +0.2 |
| Linke | 5,836 | 3.5% | 11.5% | -8.0 |
| Volt | 5,711 | 3.4% | 0.7% | +2.7 |
| Die PARTEI | 4,654 | 2.8% | – | – |
| Tierschutzpartei | 3,050 | 1.8% | – | – |
| Freie Wähler | 887 | 0.5% | 0.3% | +0.2 |
| ÖDP | 579 | 0.3% | – | – |
| Others | 9,947 | 5.9% | – | – |
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.
Bochum 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
- 358,880 (as of 2025-12-31)
- Area
- 145.7 km²
- Population density
- 2,464 inhabitants per km²
- Settlement type
- densely populated (city)
- Under 19
- 15.9%
- 67 and older
- 19.8%
- Foreign nationals (2022 census)
- 14.3%
- Employees subject to social insurance (place of work)
- 150,864 (as of 2025-06-30)
- Commuter balance
- +8,083 (more in-commuters than out-commuters)
- Unemployment rate
- 9.6% (as of 2026-09)
- Kelvion Holding
- 4,500 employees
- Bochum-Gelsenkirchener Straßenbahnen
- 2,410 employees (2019-12-31)
- G Data CyberDefense
- 500 employees (2021)
- Chemisches und Veterinäruntersuchungsamt Westfalen
- 210 employees
- Postcode
- 44787
- Elevation
- 100 m
- Twin towns
- 6
- Website
- www.bochum.de
- Wikipedia
- Bochum (Wikipedia)
Bochum has 358,880 inhabitants and is densely populated (city). The largest company headquartered in Bochum is Vonovia with 11,977 employees. The unemployment rate is 9.6%.
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)
Bochum: location in the Bochum district
All municipalities of the district, coloured by the strongest party of the second votes. Bochum highlighted. Tap to open a neighbouring municipality.
Bochum: 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.
SPD would remain the strongest party with 20.6% (2025: 24.5%).
Method: proportional swing of the national polling average, see constituency nowcast.