Overview
- The 44-year-old defeated non-party challenger Gerrit Derkowski 54.1% to 45.9% in the December 7 runoff after trailing in the first round.
- The win makes Yilmaz Kiel’s first directly elected Green mayor, with the office passing from SPD’s Ulf Kämpfer at the handover in April 2026.
- Derkowski, backed by the CDU, FDP and SSW, congratulated Yilmaz and said he will forgo future bids for political office.
- Yilmaz lists priorities including education, security, administrative modernization and climate-focused mobility, backing the council-approved Stadtbahn with closer bus–rail coordination.
- He inherits a tightly constrained budget and major projects such as school and housing upgrades, the Holstein-Stadion and the proposed Stadtbahn; turnout was 43.5% of 190,779 eligible voters.