AfD projected to win Sachsen-Anhalt with 44% and about 39 of 83 seats

Initial exit‑poll projections put the far‑right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) on about 44% in the Saxony‑Anhalt state election, with the conservative CDU at roughly 17.8%.

AfD’s state leader Ulrich Siegmund called the showing “sensational” and said the party wanted to start governing as soon as possible. Supporters at the AfD election night cheered and later sang the German national anthem; Siegmund said the result was “a signal for the whole of Germany.”

It is not yet clear whether the projected result will be enough to form a government: the final balance depends on which smaller parties clear the 5% threshold. If the populist left BSW fails to enter the Landtag, AfD’s chances of a majority would rise. Current projections give AfD about 39 seats in the 83‑seat assembly.

Saxony‑Anhalt, with a population of about 2.1 million, is notable because the state AfD branch has been assessed by domestic intelligence as “right‑wing extremist,” a label Siegmund rejects. The party is openly pro‑Russia and anti‑migration.

Political opponents and commentators called the outcome a watershed. Charlotte Knobloch, head of the Jewish community in Munich and Bavaria, said she was frightened. SPD leader Lars Klingbeil described the result as “a signal to Berlin.”

Turnout was especially high at an estimated 78%. International reactions included a Truth Social post by US President Donald Trump sharing the German TV projection and a screenshot of that post by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who praised the result as a “historic win for the pragmatic AfD.”