AfD wins Saxony-Anhalt election but falls short of outright majority

Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won the election in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt but did not secure an outright majority. Preliminary results give it 39 of the 83 seats, three short of the 42 required.

The AfD won 43.8% of the vote, while the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) almost halved its share to 17.2%. Ulrich Siegmund, the AfD’s state leader, called the result a mandate to form a government.

The party is seeking backing from other parties and individual lawmakers. Beatrix von Storch said refusing talks could lead to a minority government or another election.

AfD seeks support to govern

Von Storch said the AfD was speaking to members of the CDU group who, she said, were unhappy with their own party. One option under discussion is tacit support from the left-wing populist BSW, which is projected to win five seats.

Siegmund said talks began on Sunday night and could take days or weeks. A CDU-led government is theoretically possible, but appears highly unlikely.

Chancellor and CDU respond

Chancellor Friedrich Merz called the result “deeply shocking” and said it was the CDU’s worst defeat in years, if not decades. He said Germany needed profound reforms and could not return to business as usual.

Sven Schulze, the defeated state premier and a CDU member, also said the mandate to govern Saxony-Anhalt now lay with the AfD.

Contested plans and implications

Domestic intelligence classifies the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt as right-wing extremist, a designation Siegmund rejects. The party’s plans include separate classes for child refugees and a task force to help detain and deport migrants without the right to remain.

If the AfD leads the state government, it would be the first far-right party to control a German state since World War Two. State authorities include responsibility for policing and local education.

Reactions at home and abroad varied. Donald Trump posted the projected results, while Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev called the AfD victory historic; Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said only “idiots and traitors” in Poland could celebrate it.