Kiel elects new mayor: Green Samet Yilmaz clearly wins!

Kiel elects new mayor: Green Samet Yilmaz clearly wins!

Today Kiel is all about democracy and change. On December 7, 2025, a new mayor was elected in the state capital, and the result of the runoff election provides a breath of fresh air in the town hall. Samet Yilmaz from the Greens triumphed over Gerrit Derkowski, who entered the race without a party. Yilmaz won with 54.1 percent of the vote, while Derkowski received 45.9 percent. Yilmaz succeeds the previous mayor Ulf Kampf from the SPD.

Yilmaz took over the baton with the clear goal of making the city more modern and socially just. In his speech, he emphasized the importance of an open dialogue with all democratic parties in order to jointly realize the vision for Kiel. One of the challenges he sees is the involvement of all citizens in the planning of a new light rail system.

Voter turnout and voter numbers

Voter turnout in this runoff election was 43.5 percent, slightly lower than in the main election on November 16th, where it was 48.9 percent. Of the approximately 190,000 people in Kiel who were eligible to vote, around 7,500 citizens cast their votes in the instant vote - this was also a decrease of almost 2,000 voters compared to the main election. Over 37,000 Kiel residents applied for the opportunity to vote by post, which further underlines the political participation in the city.

The development of voter turnout in general is interesting. In Germany, there has been an increase in participation among older voters in recent years - the group of people over 70 has grown particularly strongly. In 2025, voter turnout was 82.3 percent among women and 82.7 percent among men, which shows that citizens are willing to raise their voices and actively participate in political events even in difficult times.

A newcomer to politics

Gerrit Derkowski, who entered the political arena as a newcomer, congratulated Yilmaz and was quite satisfied with his result. This shows respectful interaction and fair competition, which is not always a given in the political arena.

Overall, the elections in Kiel seem to be a good reflection of the political landscape in Germany. The values ​​and numbers illustrate voter engagement, which is essential for healthy democratic systems. Even though voter turnout in Kiel has decreased somewhat compared to previous elections, it remains a challenge for the city to arouse citizens' interest and actively involve them in political decision-making processes.

These developments are in line with current trends in Germany, where voter turnout is changing slightly. Statista shows that regional differences and age groups play a significant role in voter turnout, highlighting the complexity of the issue.

An important challenge for the new mayor Yilmaz will be to understand these dynamics and include them in political decisions - because a strong and lively Kiel is based on the active participation of its citizens.

It looks like Kiel has shown a good hand and has chosen Yilmaz, a committed mayor who creates security and opens up new perspectives. The next few years will show to what extent he can overcome these challenges.