Pro-refugee candidate elected Cologne mayor after knife attack

Berlin (AFP). A German city official who was stabbed in the neck in an attack apparently over her work with refugees was Sunday elected the first female mayor of the western city of Cologne.

Henriette Reker, who was in stable condition in hospital after being seriously injured in Saturday's assault, has become the most prominent victim of a growing backlash against a huge influx of migrants to Germany.

Standing as an independent, though close to the ruling Christian Democrats (CDU) of Chancellor Angela Merkel, the 58-year-old had been the frontrunner to enter town hall and final results gave her a clear win with 52.6 percent of the vote.

"Victory! We are delighted for Henriette Reker," her campaign team said in a tweet, calling her win "a new start for Cologne".

Trailing in second place was Jochen Ott of the centre-left Social Democrats who secured 32 percent of the vote.

Reker, a trained lawyer, was largely unknown at the national level before she was attacked by a 44-year-old man wielding two knives. Four others were also injured in the stabbing, which happened while Reker was campaigning at a street market.

The crime sparked nationwide outrage with Merkel herself expressing shock at the incident. Police said the attack was a "racist" and "political" act.

Hospital staff said Sunday that, after undergoing emergency surgery, Reker was expected to make a full recovery.