AfD Projected to Win 44% in Saxony-Anhalt, Eyes First Far-Right State Government Since WW2
- Germany's far-right AfD party projected to win 44% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt, far ahead of the CDU on 17.8%
- AfD state leader Ulrich Siegmund declared the result 'sensational' and said the party wants to start governing immediately
- Whether AfD can form a majority government depends on smaller parties clearing the 5% parliamentary threshold
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Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is on course for a historic victory in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, with initial projections placing it at 44% of the vote — more than double the support of its nearest rival, the conservative CDU, which stands at 17.8%.
Ulrich Siegmund, the AfD's leader in the state, told cheering supporters at the party's election night event in Magdeburg that the result was "sensational" and that he intended to move towards forming a government without delay.
Source: Getty Images
"We have made history in this state," Siegmund said, as crowds burst into a rendition of the German national anthem.
According to BBC, no far-right party has controlled a German state government since World War Two. Winning in Saxony-Anhalt would hand the AfD authority over state-level policing, education, and culture in a region with a population of about 2.1 million.
Whether a majority is possible
Despite the scale of the projected win, it remains unclear whether the AfD will secure enough seats to govern outright. The party appears headed for around 39 seats in the 83-seat state parliament, based on current projections. The final outcome may depend on whether the left-wing populist party BSW clears the required 5% threshold to enter parliament. If BSW falls short, the AfD's path to a working majority improves significantly.
The AfD in Saxony-Anhalt has been classified by domestic intelligence services as "right-wing extremist," a label Siegmund rejects. The party is openly pro-Russia and anti-migration, and among its national policy positions is a controversial "remigration" plan that critics interpret as a call for mass deportations, though the party describes it as targeting criminals and those in the country without legal status. At state level, the AfD would have no power to implement such national policies.
Reaction across Germany
CDU leader in the state Sven Schulze conceded defeat, acknowledging it had been "an extremely tough and intensive election campaign." Germany's centre-left SPD described the outcome as "truly dramatic." National SPD leader Lars Klingbeil called the result a "signal to Berlin" and said his party would not ignore it.
Charlotte Knobloch, the 93-year-old Holocaust survivor who leads the Jewish community in Munich and Bavaria, said the news frightened her. "On days like this I find it hard to recognise my homeland any more," she said, urging mainstream parties not to allow "this decline" to continue unchecked.
Turnout in Saxony-Anhalt was estimated at 78%. Other major parties continue to maintain a so-called Brandmauer, or firewall, refusing coalition talks with the AfD, though BSW has indicated it may cooperate with the party on certain issues if it enters parliament.
The AfD previously won the 2024 state election in neighbouring Thuringia but fell short of the seats needed to govern.
German on everyone's election hit list
Legit.ng earlier reported that German politicians make a lot of laws and regulations but on the campaign trail many rage against the country's notorious bureaucracy, labelling it a monster that needs to be slayed.
Whatever else divides them, almost all candidates in the February 23 vote agree with the popular idea that Europe's biggest economy needs to slash back its thicket of rules, often labelled a "jungle of paragraphs".
Source: Legit.ng
