Saalekreis voters head to polls in Landrat race that could produce Saxony-Anhalt's first AfD district chief

The four candidates are Sven Czekalla of the CDU, Kerstin Eisenreich of Die Linke, Lars Zaruba, and Arendt. Approximately 84 percent of the district's residents, or roughly 154,000 people, are eligible to vote. The final result is to be determined in a meeting of the district election committee on the evening of 9 June, according to the district administration, which added that a runoff, if needed, would be held on 28 June.

The candidates and their priorities

Czekalla, 43, sits in the Landtag of Saxony-Anhalt for the CDU and previously served as a mayor and city council chair. His campaign has been built around the slogan 'Wir sind ein Saalekreis.' He has made industrial policy a signature issue, pledging to push for competitive energy prices and to enable new industrial settlements, including in the planned Leuna III expansion area, which the candidates broadly view as central to the local economy.

Lars Zaruba, 49, is a non-partisan who works in the district administration as a fire protection inspector and previously sat on the Hohenweiden local council. His platform emphasizes faster approvals, clearly defined responsibilities and a more efficient administration, an agenda he presents as a continuation of the district's existing course under Handschak.

Kerstin Eisenreich, 57, is running for Die Linke and has framed her candidacy as a fight to defend jobs in the chemical industry, the district's economic backbone. She has also called for more political pressure on the state and federal level. Characterizing the mood in parts of the district as tense, she said many residents in the north of the Saalekreis feel like 'das fünfte Rad am Wagen,' and proposed an 'administrative mobile unit' along with a stronger on-site presence of the district administration as countermeasures.

Controversy surrounding the AfD candidate

Arendt has focused his campaign on security, order, family policy and criticism of political framework conditions, particularly in energy policy. The verified reporting notes that he did not respond to the MDR's request and instead communicates his positions mainly through his own channels. He later stopped making public statements on the matter, according to the report, after denying on social media allegations first reported by the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung that he had carried out campaign appearances and worked as a DJ while on sick leave. A disciplinary proceeding against him is ongoing, confirmed by police, which declined to provide details.

All four candidates have stressed the importance of the chemical industry and have called for stronger infrastructure and the safeguarding of medical care, areas on which the candidates' manifestos overlap. The shared emphasis reflects the sector's central role in the local economy and its perceived vulnerability to energy-price swings and shifting federal regulations.

Outgoing office-holder and timeline

Handschak, who is 65, was first elected Landrat in 2019, succeeding Frank Bannert of the CDU, who died after a long illness. He had earlier indicated that he would not run again, citing his age. The handover to his successor is planned for 1 November.