Gelsenkirchen City Council Votes Out AfD Politician Emmerich as Deputy Mayor

Composed before the vote

Emmerich himself looks at the vote calmly: "Mir ist egal, wenn ich abgewählt werde. Wir leben in einer Demokratie, ich nehme das dann so hin." He continues to stand by the video: "Ich habe mir nichts vorzuwerfen," he says.

The motion for his removal had previously been signed by several politicians from smaller parties. The four-party coalition of SPD, CDU, Greens, and FDP had only 38 votes according to its own figures and was therefore dependent on the support of smaller factions. Required by the municipal code was a two-thirds majority of 45 votes; 47 were reached.

Why the small parties were decisive

Sascha Kurth, CDU faction leader in Gelsenkirchen, expressed confidence before the vote: "Wir sind optimistisch, dass wir sogar auf mehr als die benötigten 45 Stimmen kommen." Adrianna Gorczyk, Greens faction leader, was also convinced: "Ich glaube, dass allen sehr bewusst ist, um was es geht," she says, appealing to council members: "Alle haben die Zusage gegeben, dass sie für den Antrag stimmen."

Martin Gatzemeier of the Left council faction was considerably more skeptical: "Ich habe die Befüchtung, dass das gleiche Ergebnis herumkommt wie bei der Wahl von Emmerich zum Bürgermeister," he said, referring to the vote in December 2025. At that time, Emmerich's election as Deputy Mayor had taken place secretly and turned out surprisingly, because three council members deviated from their factions' recommendations and voted for the AfD man instead of the CDU candidate Werner Wöll.

Distribution of votes in the Gelsenkirchen city council

The distribution of votes in the Gelsenkirchen city council is as follows: The SPD has 21 votes (including the vote of Mayor Andrea Henze), the AfD 20, the CDU 12, the Greens 3, Die Linke 3, the FDP 2, and Tierschutz, GUT, WIN, AUF, Die Partei, and Serdar Ay 1 vote each. Since the AfD alone holds 20 council seats, Emmerich's removal depended on how the smaller parties such as Linke, WIN, and AUF voted.

CDU faction leader Sascha Kurth clearly justified the motion: "Wer in fragwürdigen bis diffamierenden Videos auftritt, ist für das Amt des Bürgermeisters nicht geeignet," he emphasized. The city councilors apparently saw it the same way – in the end, there were 47 votes for the removal.

Justification from the factions

Legally, the motion is based on the North Rhine-Westphalia municipal code in the version of 01.01.2026. It provides that a deputy mayor can be removed by a two-thirds majority of the council. When a successor should be elected was initially unclear.

In Gelsenkirchen, the issue now stands as exemplary for dealing with right-wing extremist or discriminatory actions by officeholders. At the same time, the case raises questions about the stability of municipal alliances that depend on the votes of smaller factions.

The news was first broadcast on 09.07.2026 on Deutschlandfunk; sources used included, in addition to the WDR conversation with Sascha Kurth, interviews with Martin Gatzemeier (Die Linke), Adrianna Gorczyk (Greens), and Norbert Emmerich himself.

It remains unclear how the AfD will react to the loss of the deputy mayor post. The question of succession is also likely to play a central role in the coming sessions of the city council – especially since the majority situation remains tight.

Legal basis and open questions

The session on Thursday from 3 p.m. marked a political turning point: For the first time in this legislative period, an AfD politician was removed from a top municipal office in a major North Rhine-Westphalian city at the initiative of the democratic factions.

Observers see the result as a signal to all officeholders that defamatory appearances do not go without consequences. At the same time, it remains to be seen whether the majority situation in the council will change structurally.