AfD leads in Saxony-Anhalt, heading for historic win
Exit polls place Alternative for Germany around 44.5% versus CDU 18.5%, raising the prospect of the first far‑right single‑party state government in Germany since WWII.
Polling stations have closed in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt and exit polls point to a commanding lead for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). According to those projections, AfD won about 44.5 percent of the vote, well ahead of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) at 18.5 percent.
Possible first single‑party far‑right government since World War II
AfD, led in the campaign by its charismatic lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund, has never been part of a governing coalition at state level or in the federal government because other established parties have so far refused to cooperate, keeping what is commonly described as a cordon sanitaire around the party.
If the exit-poll numbers are confirmed in the counted ballots, AfD could win an absolute majority of seats in the Landtag in the state capital Magdeburg and become the first far‑right party to govern a German state on its own since the Second World War. Final seat projections based on partially counted votes are expected soon.
The three left‑of‑centre parties — The Left, the Greens and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) — passed the five percent threshold required to enter the state parliament, according to exit polls. The populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) is reported to be hovering around the five percent threshold and could hold a decisive position depending on final results.
Election officials and party leaders are awaiting the official count. If AfD secures an outright majority, the result will reshape debates about cooperation and exclusion of the far right in German politics and test how other parties react to a new parliamentary arithmetic in Saxony-Anhalt.
Photo: EPA/FILIP SINGER
