Thuringia landrat officials under scrutiny: poor deportation record and a runoff election

AfD landrat Robert Sesselmann of Sonneberg county, who campaigned on immediate deportations of criminal asylum seekers, has overseen only six of the 40 deportations planned for 2025. This places him last in Thuringia’s deportation ranking, with the state average showing a 75% failure rate for such measures. As of 1 January 2026, 40 individuals remain in his district despite lacking legal residence, highlighting the gap between the party’s hard‑line promises and actual enforcement.

In the neighbouring district of Saalfeld‑Rudolstadt, a runoff election will decide the next landrat. The contest pits incumbent SPD mayor Marko Wolfram against AfD candidate Thomas Benninghaus. Voting began at 08:00, with preliminary results due by 20:00 on Sunday. About 83,500 eligible voters are spread across 152 precincts, including 17 mail‑ballot districts, and roughly 1,000 volunteers are assisting with the vote count.