Alternative for Germany Wins Saxony-Anhalt Election with 43.8% of the Vote
Political
The right-populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) secured a decisive victory in the state parliament election in Saxony-Anhalt. After 100% of the votes were counted, the party won 43.8%, far ahead of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which received 17.2%.
Results from all 2,661 polling stations were counted. The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) came third with 9.3%. The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) also cleared the 5% threshold, receiving 5.3% of the vote.
AfD’s result does not automatically give the party enough support to form a single-party government. The state parliament has 83 seats, with 42 required for an absolute majority, while AfD is set to hold 39. Mainstream parties have ruled out forming coalitions with AfD. A coalition could therefore be possible only if the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, which won five seats, agrees to cooperate.
AfD lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund called the result historic and said his party was ready to work with political forces that wanted to “pursue better politics” than the current government. At the same time, he said the party’s position on sharply reducing immigration was not open to discussion. “This is a signal for all of Germany,” Siegmund told supporters.
AfD co-chairs Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla joined Siegmund in celebrating the result in Magdeburg. Weidel said Siegmund had achieved what many had considered impossible.
Germany’s domestic intelligence service considers AfD “right-wing extremist,” while the party’s leadership rejects the characterization. Marcel Lewandowski, a political scientist at the University of Halle, told Reuters that he would describe AfD as at least partly right-wing extremist, citing its views on liberal democracy and political opponents.
The CDU, the party leading the federal government under Chancellor Friedrich Merz, finished second. Its support in Saxony-Anhalt fell by more than half compared with the previous election, when it received 37.1%. Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil described the result as a worrying signal for politicians in Berlin and said the federal government would take the outcome into account.
AfD’s result does not automatically give the party enough support to form a single-party government. The state parliament has 83 seats, with 42 required for an absolute majority, while AfD is set to hold 39. Mainstream parties have ruled out forming coalitions with AfD. A coalition could therefore be possible only if the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, which won five seats, agrees to cooperate.
AfD lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund called the result historic and said his party was ready to work with political forces that wanted to “pursue better politics” than the current government. At the same time, he said the party’s position on sharply reducing immigration was not open to discussion. “This is a signal for all of Germany,” Siegmund told supporters.
AfD co-chairs Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla joined Siegmund in celebrating the result in Magdeburg. Weidel said Siegmund had achieved what many had considered impossible.
Germany’s domestic intelligence service considers AfD “right-wing extremist,” while the party’s leadership rejects the characterization. Marcel Lewandowski, a political scientist at the University of Halle, told Reuters that he would describe AfD as at least partly right-wing extremist, citing its views on liberal democracy and political opponents.
The CDU, the party leading the federal government under Chancellor Friedrich Merz, finished second. Its support in Saxony-Anhalt fell by more than half compared with the previous election, when it received 37.1%. Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil described the result as a worrying signal for politicians in Berlin and said the federal government would take the outcome into account.
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