
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is leading with 44.5% in the Saxony-Anhalt state election, according to the first ARD state election polls.
The CDU is projected to get only 18.5%, losing half of its strength compared to the 2021 elections. Below 10% are the Left (9.5%), the Greens (9%) and the SPD (8%), with relatively small fluctuations.
In terms of seats and based on the same exit poll, the AfD is estimated to secure 39 seats, the CDU 16 seats, the Left 8 seats as well as the Greens, the SPD 7 seats and the BSW 5 seats.
For a majority, at least 42 of the 83 seats in the local parliament are needed.
Compared to the previous elections in the same state, in 2021, the AfD almost doubled its percentages (+23.7%), while the CDU lost half of its strength (-18.6%). The losses were smaller for the Left (-1.5%) and the SPD (-0.4%).
It is the first time that a far-right party has come so close to forming a government in a German state.
Polls gave the party around 40%, with the question remaining to be answered at the end of election night being whether it will cross the threshold for self-government.