The right-wing populist Alternative for Germany party topped the election results in the state of Saxony-Anhalt today, Sunday (September 6, 2026), which represents a strong blow to the conservative German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, according to estimates by public broadcasters, but it must be known whether the Alternative for Germany's share of the vote is sufficient to rule this state, which was part of former East Germany.
Live coverage of the Saxony-Anhalt state elections
By obtaining 44.4 percent of the votes, according to these estimates, the Alternative for Germany party is ahead by a large margin over the Christian Democratic Union led by Meretz, which came in second place and received 18.4 percent of the votes, according to the poll conducted by the German Broadcasting Corporation (ARD) upon exit from the polls.
The participation rate was about 76 percent, which is much higher than usual levels in state elections.
A huge loss for the Christian Democratic Union
The Christian Democratic Union, which leads the current outgoing state government, suffered this result with a heavy loss compared to the percentage it had obtained five years ago, which amounted to 37.1 percent at the time.
As for the rest of the parties, the Left Party received 9.3 percent of the votes, the Social Democratic Party 8.4 percent, the Green Party obtained 8.7 percent, and the “Sarah Wagenknecht Alliance” 5 percent, while the Free Democratic Party (liberal) achieved only 2.2 percent.
It is noteworthy that parties that obtain less than five percent do not enter Parliament.
If these numbers are confirmed in the final count, the Alternative, which is classified in the state of Saxony-Anhalt as a confirmed far-right party, will win 39 seats in the regional parliament, knowing that achieving an absolute majority requires obtaining 42 seats.
The Alternative Party, which opposes immigration, is seeking to form a government in the state alone, but the votes it will receive, according to current expectations, will not be sufficient for that, but it has returned and expressed its openness to an alliance with other parties on conditions. The possibility remains possible that the "Sarah Wagenknecht Alliance" will ally with him, if the percentage of votes he received does not fall below the five percent barrier.
Leader of the "Alternative": From here we will work to change Germany"
The leader of the Alternative for Germany party, Tino Kruppala, announced that the results of the parliamentary elections in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, which took place on Sunday, give his party a mandate to form the government.
Kruppala added that the result represents a clear mandate from voters, and continued: “Ulrich Zigmund will become the new head of government of the state of Saxony-Anhalt, and from here we will work to change Germany.”
It is noteworthy that Zigmund is the main candidate of the "AfD" party in the elections in Saxony-Anhalt.
Kruppala described the result as "amazing". When asked if forming a single government was the only option on the table, he said: “We have always said that we are also ready to extend a hand of cooperation to everyone who wants good for Saxony-Anhalt.”
Shrubala saw today's results as a clear decision by voters that carries a message to Berlin that things cannot continue with the federal government in Berlin in the way they are.
“The isolation wall policy has failed.”
Commenting on a statement years ago by the German Chancellor and head of the Christian Democratic Party, Friedrich Merz, in which he said at the time that “the strength of the Alternative Party could be reduced by half,” Kruppala said to reporters in the city of Magdeburg (the state capital) this evening: “We have reduced the share of the Christian Party by half, so it is a wonderful evening.”
Kupala stressed: “The isolation wall policy has failed.”
The political “separation wall” or “firewall” is an expression used in Germany to describe the “AfD” party’s strict isolation policy, which aims to prevent the party from entering into alliances or political cooperation with other parties.
Edited by: Imad Ghanem
