Brussels
14 September 2020
On Sunday 13 September, citizens of the Western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia were called to the voting booths for municipal elections.
The election demonstrated once again the capacity of the Greens to create enthusiasm and desire for change towards more sustainable and fair cities as another Green Wave surged across cities in the state. The Greens secured 20% of the votes, a 8.3% increase from the last elections. The Greens notably secured major wins among some of the largest cities in the state: Aachen, Bonn and Cologne. Green candidates are also in leading positions in smaller cities ahead of the second round on Sunday 27 September.
Worth noting is the fact that young people aged 16 to 24 trusted the Greens with their vote more than any other party, with a comfortable margin.
Thomas Waitz and Evelyne Huytebroeck, co-chairs of the European Green Party, comment:
“After the Green Wave swept French cities a few months ago, we are pleased to see that it is a solid trend in large European countries. Hundreds of new local councillor seats have been won this weekend by the German Greens. They will be able to show that our solutions for more sustainable, fairer, more liveable cities, towns and villages can be quickly implemented and are benefiting all citizens.
The European Green Party will continue encouraging cooperation between Green local councillors and mayors across Europe. We strongly believe that European cooperation at the local level can help to spread solutions that work for Green municipalities!”
