"Alternative for Germany" set a record in the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, but did not get a majority

The "Alternative for Germany" (AfD) party confidently won the elections to the Landtag of Saxony-Anhalt and showed the best result in its history in state elections in Germany. However, it did not gain an absolute majority in the parliament, so forming a government will depend on the position of other political forces.

According to the preliminary final result of the state election commission, the AfD received 43.8% of the votes. Compared to the 2021 elections, its support increased by 23 percentage points - that is, more than doubled.

The result in Saxony-Anhalt became a record for the AfD in elections to any state parliament. The party's previous maximum was significantly lower. However, the current victory is not the first for the AfD: for the first time it took first place in the state elections in Thuringia in September 2024, receiving 32.8% of the votes. Thus, Saxony-Anhalt became the second federal state where the AfD won the state elections.

In second place was the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of Prime Minister Sven Schulze with 17.2%. For the CDU, this is the worst result in state elections in Saxony-Anhalt. The Social Democrats received 9.3%, the Greens - 8.9%, the Left Party - 8.6%, and the "Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance" (BSW) with 5.3% entered the local parliament for the first time. The Free Democratic Party with a result of 2.6% did not overcome the five percent hurdle.

The new Landtag will have 83 deputies. The AfD gets 39 seats, the CDU - 15, and the SPD, the Greens and the Left Party - eight each. BSW will have five deputies. The AfD is short of three seats for an independent majority. Voter turnout was a record for the state of 77.8%, compared to 60.3% in the previous elections.

Government formation may depend on BSW

The CDU, SPD, Greens and Left Party had rejected cooperation with the AfD before the elections. The only parliamentary force that does not rule out negotiations with the election winner is BSW.

BSW candidate Thomas Schulze declared readiness for negotiations with the AfD and pointed to a number of common positions. Among them are a negative attitude towards sanctions against Russia and the desire for cheaper energy. At the same time, BSW has not yet announced readiness to support AfD candidate Ulrich Siegmund for the post of prime minister.

Siegmund himself stated that the AfD considers the election result as a mandate to form a government, but is not ready to abandon its key positions for the sake of a coalition. If no agreement with other forces is reached, the politician allows for new elections.

The AfD branch in Saxony-Anhalt has been classified by the state Office for the Protection of the Constitution since 2023 as confirmed right-wing extremist. If the party manages to come to power, this will be the first case in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany when a federal state is governed by a political force with such classification. Nevertheless, the mere fact of such a party winning a state election already had a precedent in Thuringia in 2024.

Based on materials from: Tagesschau, ZDF, Election Commission of Saxony-Anhalt