Belit Onay Secures Second Term as Hannover Mayor, Eva Bender Becomes Regional President

In Hannover’s mayoral runoff, Green politician Belit Onay retained his office, overcoming SPD candidate Axel von der Ohe after the first round left both short of an outright majority. Simultaneously, the Region Hannover elected its new president, with SPD’s Eva Bender beating CDU’s Oliver Junk, marking the first time a woman will hold the post. Bender, who has served as Hannover’s education secretary since 2024, had led the first-round tally.

The runoffs were part of a broader series of 123 second-round votes across Lower Saxony, triggered where initial ballots failed to produce a majority. AfD candidates reached the runoff in Salzgitter, Munster and Bockenem but were defeated in each case. Voters in the state, from the capital’s 888,000 electorate to the small Northeim district of about 25,000, participated in these decisive contests.