Following local elections in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt, 162 seats remain vacant, with 120 belonging to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, the state election officer said upon request.
In the local elections held at the beginning of June, the AfD came out on top with 28.1% of the votes, narrowly beating the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) with 26.8%.
However, not all seats could be filled. In some cases this is due to parties having received more votes than they can accept based on their lists, according to a spokeswoman for the state election officer.
Meanwhile some candidates did not accept their mandates, she added.
Some 4,400 seats were up for grabs in Saxony-Anhalt's city and district council elections, with some 3.7% - or 162 seats - now vacant. According to local electoral law, they cannot be filled until after a new electoral term begins.