Yilmaz wins in Kiel: A new path for the city from 2026!

Yilmaz wins in Kiel: A new path for the city from 2026!

The eagerly awaited runoff election for the office of mayor took place in Kiel on December 8, 2025. Samet Yilmaz from the Greens prevailed and will succeed Ulf Kampf (SPD) in April 2026. This voter's decision not only brought a breath of fresh air to the city administration, but also changed the political landscape in Kiel.

In total, around 190,000 eligible voters were called upon to cast their votes. Voter turnout in the runoff election was 43.5 percent, which represents a decrease compared to the main election, where turnout was 48.9 percent. This encouraged over 37,000 voters to request postal voting, a clear increase compared to the previous election. The counting of votes revealed 82,635 votes cast, of which 82,063 were valid. There was also a certain trend in the statistics: 572 votes were considered invalid.

Yilmaz was able to prevail with 54.1 percent of the vote against Gerrit Derkowski (independent), who got 45.9 percent. Derkowski, who was surprisingly ahead of Yilmaz (24.8 percent) in the first round of voting on November 16th with 28.7 percent, was satisfied with his result as a newcomer to politics after the election. Christopher Vogt, the chairman of the FDP in Schleswig-Holstein, also praised Derkowski's election campaign, which shows the support within the political community.

Further challenges

Samet Yilmaz, who grew up in Kiel and studied political science at the CAU Kiel, is determined to make the city more modern and socially just. He emphasizes the need for dialogue with all democratic parties. Citizen participation in planned projects, such as the light rail, will be a particular challenge for him. The incumbent mayor Ulf Kampf predicted that Yilmaz would also have to deal with the ongoing financial crisis in the municipalities.

“We are glad that the election went well and are looking forward to the coming months,” said Yilmaz, who also served as co-leader of the Kiel Greens and most recently worked in the Schleswig-Holstein Ministry of the Interior. The handover of office next year will bring with it completely new perspectives and challenges.

The result of this election could also be important for future elections and decisions in Kiel, as national election statistics show. Voter turnout data is continually updated and provides a clear idea of ​​voter preferences. You can find out more detailed information about the various voting patterns and trends at www.statisticsportal.de. So the view of political developments in Kiel remains exciting.

In Pries-Friedrichsort, however, Gerrit Derkowski performed better, where he received 59.0 percent of the vote, while Yilmaz received 41.0 percent. Nevertheless, the overall result of the election is clear and shows that the electorate has decided on a new course.

Follow the developments in Kiel and future projects under the new auspices. Team Yilmaz has already been given a clear order in the city - and the Kelch is very popular with the people of Kiel.

For further details about the election and its statistics, we refer to the articles from KN Online, NDR and the statistics portal.