Düsseldorf: Governance and Administration in January 2026 – Elections, Personnel and Digitalization

Elections under Scrutiny: The Election Review Committee Evaluates the 2025 Local Elections

In January 2026, the city of Düsseldorf's Election Review Committee convened to assess the validity of the local elections, the Integration Council elections, and the runoff election for the Mayor in September 2025. The meeting took place on January 21, 2026, and was conducted unanimously. Although two appeals were filed, they were rejected as formally ineffective and substantively unfounded. The committee recommended that the City Council of Düsseldorf declare the elections valid. Following a preliminary review by the committee, the Council finally decided to declare the elections valid in accordance with § 40 of the North Rhine-Westphalia Municipal Election Act. A lawsuit against the decision is possible within one month at the Administrative Court.

The decision is an important signal for the stability of democratic processes in the city and underlines the rule of law as well as the independence of the election review. At the same time, it shows that the city administration is capable of meeting complex legal and administrative requirements.

Personnel Development and Refunding: 2,005 New Full-Time Positions Since 2020

Another central topic in the governance field was personnel development in the city administration. Since 2020, a total of 2,005.01 full-time positions have been newly created in various departments. The distribution of these positions is highly differentiated: The Department for Social Affairs and Youth received the largest share with 514.67 FTE (23.77 %).

The reasons for the increase in positions are diverse: 65 % of the new positions were created due to legislative decisions, 25 % through personnel budgeting, and 10 % for other reasons. However, funding from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia is not fully secured. Only in areas such as after-school childcare in primary schools or municipal integration management were partial state funds available. Revenue from fees, such as those from emergency services, also contribute to financing.

This development shows how sensitive personnel policy is in relation to budget and financial policy. At the same time, it creates a tension between the need for personnel and financial sustainability.

Digitalization and Governance: IKT Planning 2026 and the Digital Dividend

In the field of digitalization, significant progress was made in January 2026. The Committee for Digitalization, Personnel and Organization discussed the IKT (Information and Communication Technology) Planning 2026, which includes a total budget of 57.86 million euros. The planning includes not only investments in IT services such as SAP systems, e-archives, or AI platforms, but also digitalization projects such as the digital implementation of the OZG (Online Access Act) or the Urban Data Platform.

Another milestone was the introduction of the so-called "Scoring Model" for determining the digital dividend. This model is used to prioritize digitalization projects by making their benefits for administrative modernization measurable. Thirteen criteria are evaluated in three categories (economic, operational, qualitative). The digital dividend is planned to be integrated into standard processes to create a better decision-making basis for digital projects from the first quarter of 2026.

In addition, the legal review of the digital voting system OpenSlides was completed. The system was confirmed as lawful and tamper-proof, paving the way for secret digital voting in the administration.

Outlook: Governance as the Key to a Modern Administration

The developments in January 2026 show how multifaceted governance is in Düsseldorf. From ensuring democratic processes to personnel planning and digitalization strategy – the city is required to tackle complex challenges. The decisions made lay the foundation for a transparent, efficient and modern administration. At the same time, topics such as funding, personnel needs, and legal security remain central challenges that will remain in focus in the coming months.