Frankfurt (Germany), 15 September (LaPresse) – The CDU has once again established itself as the strongest party in the local elections in North Rhine-Westphalia, while the SPD has suffered losses. According to preliminary results published early this morning by the state's election director, 33.3% of the vote went to Minister-President Hendrik Wüst's CDU. The Greens suffered a sharp decline, while the AfD gained significant ground. Compared to the local elections five years ago, the CDU lost 1.0 percentage points, according to preliminary results. The SPD won 22.1% of the vote, losing 2.2 points. The AfD significantly improved its result by 9.4 points, reaching 14.5%. The Greens, who govern North Rhine-Westphalia at state level with the CDU, fell by 6.5 percentage points to 13.5%. The Left Party achieved 5.6%, an increase of 1.8 percentage points. The FDP achieved 3.7%, a loss of 1.9 percentage points. The BSW achieved 1.1%.