The right-wing populist AfD won the elections in Saxony-Anhalt with a result of 44.5%

The right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, according to exit poll data, is winning the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament elections on Sunday by a large margin.

It remains to be seen whether the AfD will have enough votes to form a one-party state government. If this happens, a party to the right of center will take power in one of the states for the first time in post-war German history.

According to the results of an exit poll commissioned by the television company ARD, the anti-immigrant nationalist AfD is gaining 44.5% of the vote.

AfD electoral list leader Ulrich Siegmund said his party is ready to cooperate with all forces that wish to “carry out a better policy [than the current one].”

At the same time, the AfD’s program positions regarding, for example, a sharp reduction in immigration, according to Sigmund, are not subject to discussion.

All mainstream parties refuse on principle to enter into coalitions with the AfD.

Its organization in Saxony-Anhalt has been declared extremist by Germany's internal security service, the Bureau for the Defense of the Constitution.

The ruling CDU party at the federal level takes second place, collecting only 18.5%.

The popularity of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's party in this East German state of just over two million has more than halved since the last election: it received 37.1%.