Gains but no triumph for a far-right German party in local elections in an eastern state

BERLIN (AP) — The far-right Alternative for Germany made gains but failed to secure outright victories in local elections in an eastern state where the party is strong and its regional leader, one of the party’s best-known figures, was recently convicted of knowingly using a Nazi slogan in a speech. Sunday’s elections at county and mayoral level in Thuringia come ahead of a state election on Sept. 1 in which Alternative for Germany’s local leader, Björn Höcke, plans to run for the governor’s job. Nine AfD candidates either qualified for runoff votes on June 9 or appeared set to, though there was only one county where the far-right party enjoyed a small lead going into the runoff vote for head of the local administration.