The far-right AfD becomes the largest party in Germany's eastern state parliamentary elections, winning an overwhelming victory with 43.8% of the vote, but falling short of a single majority.

[Magdeburg (Germany) Current Affairs] A state parliamentary election was held in the former East German state of Saxony-Anhalt in eastern Germany on the 6th, and according to the election commission, with over 99% of votes counted, the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) secured its place as the largest party with 43.8% of the vote. It was an overwhelming victory, doubling the number of votes from the previous election in 2021, but it fell short of a single majority. Whether a government can be formed in a state depends on the actions of other political parties.

Far-right AfD is "the only hope": First vision of government, deep-rooted distrust of politics - Report on the September German state parliamentary elections, national politics left and right, and the former East German state

The conservative ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU), led by Chancellor Merz, suffered a crushing defeat with 17.2%, less than half of the previous vote. Mr. Merz has further lost his unifying force within the party, and there are growing calls for a change in prime minister.

The center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), the environmentalist Green Party, and the Left Party, which descends from East German dictatorship parties, were tied at around 9%. The new populist party BSW has cleared the minimum vote share of 5% to win proportional seats.

AfD candidate for state premier, Siegmund, declared victory, saying, ``We have made history.'' If he can get the cooperation of the BSW, which is the only party that has not ruled out collaboration with the party, he will be closer to forming a government, but he stressed that he will not make any compromises. It will be difficult to form a majority without the AfD, and the political situation surrounding the new government is expected to remain fluid.