Bautzen I

155 Bautzen I
Electoral district for the Bundestag
Bautzen I in 2025
State	Saxony
Population	252,500 (2019)
Electorate	206,895 (2021)
Major settlements	Bautzen Hoyerswerda Radeberg
Area	2,224.9 km2
Current electoral district
Created	2009
Party	AfD
Member	Karsten Hilse
Elected	2017, 2021

Bautzen I is an electoral constituency (German: Wahlkreis) represented in the Bundestag. It elects one member via first-past-the-post voting. Under the current constituency numbering system, it is designated as constituency 155. It is located in eastern Saxony, comprising most of the Bautzen district.^[1]

Bautzen I was created for the 2009 federal election. Since 2017, it has been represented by Karsten Hilse of the Alternative for Germany (AfD).^[2]

Bautzen I is located in eastern Saxony. As of the 2021 federal election, it comprises the entirety of the Bautzen district, excluding five south-western municipalities near Dresden: Arnsdorf, Großröhrsdorf, Ottendorf-Okrilla, Radeberg, and Wachau^[1] (these five have been part of Dresden II – Bautzen II since 2009).

The constituency is in the central area of Sorbian settlement and of the Upper Sorbian language, of which many cultural institutions are housed in the town of Bautzen/Budyšin.^[3]

Bautzen I was created in 2009 and contained parts of the abolished constituencies of Kamenz – Hoyerswerda – Großenhain and Bautzen – Weißwasser. In the 2009 election, it was constituency 157 in the numbering system. In the 2013 through 2021 elections, it was number 156. From the 2025 election, it has been number 155. Its borders have not changed since its creation.

The constituency was first represented by Maria Michalk of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from 2009 to 2017. Karsten Hilse of the AfD was elected in 2017 and re-elected in 2021.

Federal election (2021): Bautzen I[4]
Notes:		Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Party		Candidate		Votes	%	±%	Party votes	%	±%
	AfD	Y Karsten Hilse		52,492	33.4	0.2	50,050	31.9	0.9
	CDU	Roland Ermer		40,929	26.0	4.5	29,213	18.6	8.5
	SPD	Kathrin Michel		21,006	13.4	3.4	26,674	17.0	7.9
	Left	Caren Lay		14,134	9.0	6.3	12,272	7.8	6.4
	FDP	Matthias Schniebel		12,634	8.0	2.2	17,187	10.9	3.3
	FW	Dirk Nasdala		5,341	3.4	1.2	4,157	2.6	1.0
	Greens	Lukas Mosler		4,090	2.6	0.6	6,247	4.0	1.6
	Human Environment Animal Protection						2,951	1.9	0.5
	PARTEI	Steffi Thomas		3,398	2.2		2,104	1.3	0.5
	dieBasis	Daniela Trittmacher		2,644	1.7		2,296	1.5
	Gesundheitsforschung						957	0.6
	NPD						601	0.4	1.1
	Pirates						542	0.3	0.0
	LKR	Maik Lehmann		467	0.3
	Team Todenhöfer						330	0.2
	Volt						320	0.2
	The III. Path						273	0.2
	Bündnis C						256	0.2
	ÖDP						251	0.2	0.1
	Humanists						171	0.1
	DKP						96	0.1
	V-Partei3						71	0.1	0.1
	MLPD						69	0.0	0.0
Informal votes				2,098			2,145
Total valid votes				157,135			157,088
Turnout				159,233	77.0	1.6
	AfD hold		Majority	11,563	7.4	4.7

Federal election (2017): Bautzen I[5]
Notes:		Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Party		Candidate		Votes	%	±%	Party votes	%	±%
	AfD	Karsten Hilse		52,770	33.2		52,041	32.8	25.7
	CDU	Roland Ermer		48,579	30.6	18.6	42,995	27.1	18.5
	Left	Caren Lay		24,221	15.2	6.1	22,597	14.2	5.7
	SPD	Uta Strewe		15,836	10.0	1.4	14,378	9.1	3.1
	FDP	Torsten Herbst		9,247	5.8	3.2	12,122	7.6	4.5
	FW	Günter Hutschalik		3,562	2.2	0.7	2,569	1.6	0.7
	Greens	Jens Bitzka		3,247	2.0	0.4	3,768	2.4	0.4
	NPD						2,371	1.5	2.6
	Human Environment Animal Protection						2,171	1.4
	PARTEI						1,356	0.9
	Independent	Andreas Lutz Richter		779	0.5
	Pirates						602	0.4	1.7
	BGE						559	0.4
	ÖDP						435	0.3
	DiB						312	0.2
	BüSo	Christoph Tobias Mzingisi Faku		635	0.4		233	0.1	0.0
	V-Partei³						195	0.1
	MLPD						138	0.1	0.0
Informal votes				2,443			2,477
Total valid votes				158,876			158,842
Turnout				161,319	75.4	6.0
	AfD gain from CDU		Majority	4,191	2.6

Federal election (2013): Bautzen I[6]
Notes:		Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Party		Candidate		Votes	%	±%	Party votes	%	±%
	CDU	Y Maria Michalk		74,794	49.2	6.9	69,335	45.6	6.8
	Left	Caren Lay		32,452	21.3	3.8	30,290	19.9	4.4
	SPD	Ilko Keßler		17,268	11.4	0.3	18,502	12.2	0.2
	AfD						10,811	7.1
	NPD	Holger Szymanski		7,270	4.8	0.7	6,271	4.1	0.9
	FW	Ralf Zeidler		4,517	3.0		3,470	2.3
	FDP	Reiner Deutschmann		3,948	2.6	9.1	4,723	3.1	10.7
	Greens	Sten Jacobson		3,709	2.4	1.8	4,249	2.8	1.4
	Pirates	Marion Nawroth		3,035	2.0		3,109	2.0
	Independent	Nitzsche		2,986	2.0
	Independent	Merz		2,024	1.3
	PRO						905	0.6
	BüSo						202	0.1	0.7
	MLPD						146	0.1	0.2
Informal votes				3,252			3,242
Total valid votes				152,003			152,013
Turnout				155,255	69.4	4.2
	CDU hold		Majority	42,342	27.9	10.8

Federal election (2009): Bautzen I[7]
Notes:		Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Party		Candidate		Votes	%	±%	Party votes	%	±%
	CDU	Maria Michalk		64,325	42.3	5.4	59,103	38.8	6.5
	Left	Caren Lay		38,241	25.1	1.5	37,144	24.4	0.1
	FDP	Reiner Deutschmann		17,755	11.7	3.4	20,969	13.8	3.9
	SPD	Ilko Keßler		16,870	11.1	10.1	18,906	12.4	8.6
	NPD	Mario Ertel		8,363	5.5	1.0	7,597	5.0	1.1
	Greens	Cordula Ratajczak		6,505	4.3	1.4	6,431	4.2	1.0
	BüSo						1,268	0.8	0.4
	REP						527	0.3	0.1
	MLPD						448	0.3	0.1
Informal votes				2,907			2,573
Total valid votes				152,059			152,393
Turnout				154,966	65.2	11.3
	CDU win new seat		Majority	26,084	17.2