Left Party Wins Berlin with 24.5% as Socialist Elif Eralp Closes In on Historic Mayor Win

Left Party Wins Berlin with 24.5% as Socialist Elif Eralp Closes In on Historic Mayor Win

Berlin voters handed the Left Party a stunning state election victory, putting socialist Elif Eralp on track to become the city's first female mayor with an immigrant background.

· 2 min read ·
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Berlin's Left Party (Die Linke) won the state election on September 20 with 24.5 percent of the vote, according to exit polls, defeating the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) that currently leads the city government [246235][245762]. The result puts the party's lead candidate, Elif Eralp, in position to become governing mayor — a first for Berlin [245969][246237].

Eralp comes from a socialist and trade union family that fled Turkey for Germany. If she takes the city's top office, she would be the first person of Turkish origin to lead Berlin, and the first woman with an immigrant background to do so [245969][246237].

The Left Party's campaign focused on cheaper housing and the nationalization of housing companies [245969]. It borrowed tactics from United States Senator Bernie Sanders, emphasizing grassroots organizing and economic messages [246198]. The victory marks a shift in the party's leadership and a major change in Berlin politics, where the CDU had led the city government [245762][246198].

Heading into election day, the race was too close to call, with the Left Party and the CDU running almost even at the top and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) following closely behind at 17 to 18 percent support [244050][245270]. The tight contest meant the votes of Turkish, Kurdish, and other immigrant-background residents could prove decisive [244050].

The Berlin result came as voters in two German states went to the polls, with the far-right AfD hoping to build on its best-ever result in the recent Saxony-Anhalt elections [245727]. The elections were widely seen as a major test for Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who skipped this week's United Nations General Assembly to manage the fallout and called a crisis meeting [245709][245727].

Sources

Berlin election: Left Party eyes historic first as Eralp challenges CDU #245762Berlin's Leftward Shift: First Woman with Immigrant Roots Nears Mayoral Win #245969Left Party Surges in Berlin Election Polls, Neck-and-Neck with CDU #244050Berlin election too close to call as Left Party, AfD fight for first #245270Berlin's election shock: Socialist Elif Eralp could make history #246237Left Party Wins Berlin Vote, Far-Right Surges #246235Berlin Shocker: Die Linke Wins as Sanders-Style Campaign Reshapes German Left #246198AfD Eyes More Gains as Merz Faces Key Test in Two German State Elections #245727Merz's Crisis Test: Berlin Votes as Chancellor Skips UN #245709

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