Elif Eralp leads Die Linke to victory in Berlin state elections

On September 20, 2026, the socialist party Die Linke won the Berlin state elections, securing 25.3% of the vote. Their lead candidate, 45-year-old lawyer Elif Eralp, is now a primary contender to become the governing mayor of Berlin. If successful in forming a coalition government, she would become the first governing mayor of Turkish descent and the first from the Left party to lead the city-state.

Following Die Linke, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) received 19% of the vote, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) 16%, and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) 12.1%. Although Eralp emerged as the election winner, her path to the mayoralty is not automatic. As Berlin functions as both a city and a federal state, the governing mayor must be elected by a parliamentary majority. Eralp intends to initiate coalition talks with the Greens and the SPD to secure the necessary legislative support.

Eralp, born in 1981 in Munich, is the daughter of Turkish socialist activists who fled Turkey following the 1980 military coup. Her political platform focuses on addressing the rising cost of living and housing, often drawing comparisons to the strategies of New York politician Zohran Mamdani. Coalition negotiations are the next critical step in determining the city's future leadership.