Runoff in Bayreuth: OB only in second place - Bayreuth's mayoral race heads to runoff after tight first-round results
Bayreuth's Lord Mayor Thomas Ebersberger will face a runoff election after failing to secure a majority in the first round. The vote, held on 8 March 2026, saw nine candidates compete for the city's top position. Only four of them managed to win at least 5% of the vote, with the top two advancing to the next stage.
Incumbent mayor Thomas Ebersberger, representing the CSU, came in second with 28.2% of the vote. He will now compete against SPD candidate Andreas Zippel, who led the first round with 34.9%. The two frontrunners pulled ahead of the rest, while Frank Hofmann of the Bayreuther Gemeinschaft secured around 7-8%, and another candidate, likely Jannick Metz or Sabine Steininger, also cleared the 5% threshold.
Voter turnout stood at 56.5%, a figure that will determine whether momentum shifts in the coming weeks. Residents will return to the polls in two weeks to decide between Ebersberger and Zippel in the final runoff.
The runoff will determine whether Ebersberger retains his top hat or Zippel takes over as Bayreuth's new mayor. The result follows a split vote among nine original candidates, with only the top two moving forward. Official confirmation of the finalists and exact percentages will be released once all ballots are verified.
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