Almost 1.8 million Saxony residents were allowed to vote in the state elections on the future composition of the state parliament.
The AfD emerged as the clear winner of the election. According to preliminary results, she has 43.8 percent of the vote. The CDU lost more than half of its percentage points and is at 17.2 percent.
The SPD got 9.3 percent, the Left got 8.6, and the Greens got 8.9 percent. The BSW managed to get over the five percent hurdle with 5.3 percent.
The election is being watched with particular attention because, with the AfD, a party that is classified as “certainly right-wing extremist” by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution is likely to be involved in forming a government for the first time.
A historic election night in Saxony-Anhalt is over. The AfD more than doubled its election result, the CDU more than halved it. However, since there is not enough for an AfD sole government and all coalitions seem unrealistic, many questions remain unanswered.
What majorities does the new Prime Minister need in which ballot rounds? Where could AfD and BSW cooperate? And when does the new state parliament have to meet at the latest? You can find the most important questions and answers after the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt in this text.
The results from Saxony-Anhalt are being analyzed in Berlin, and the leading bodies of the federal parties are meeting for consultations. The question will also be what consequences can be drawn from the AfD's strong election victory.
CDU top candidate Sven Schulze is expected in the capital, and a press conference with Chancellor Friedrich Merz is planned for 1:30 p.m. Statements from AfD chairmen Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla as well as Left Party leader Ines Schwerdtner are expected beforehand.
SPD leader Lars Klingbeil will hold a press conference at around 2 p.m. together with Saxony-Anhalt's top SPD candidate Armin Willingmann. At the same time, Green Party leader Felix Banaszak and the top candidate of the state Greens, Suse Sziborra-Seidlitz, are also doing this.
Also speaking in the morning was FDP leader Wolfgang Kubicki, whose party failed to re-enter the state parliament in Saxony-Anhalt after leaving the Bundestag.
Business associations are concerned and are warning about the economic consequences of the election results. “A climate of isolation is poison for the location,” said Steffen Kampeter, general manager of the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations.
»No election result makes wrong economic policy right. Germany needs open markets, international skilled workers, investments and a reliable Europe. Anyone who questions the euro and the European Union and seeks proximity to Russia is acting against the interests of companies and employees," said Kampeter.
The general manager of the BDI industry association, Tanja Gönner, called on the federal government to carry out more reforms after the state elections. “The answer to this state election result must not be a political standstill in the federal government,” Gönner told the editorial network Germany. The federal government must now implement investments for more growth and innovation.
The German Association of Journalists has defended the public broadcaster's reporting on the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt. On the election agenda, AfD leading candidate Ulrich Siegmund spoke of "an incredible amount of prejudice" as well as "a lot of fake news" and "a lot of disinformation" in the election campaign, to which parts of public broadcasting made a contribution. That's why he wants to abolish broadcasting fees and terminate the state media treaty, said Siegmund on the ARD Tagesschau yesterday evening.
“This is an outrage that has nothing to do with the quality of MDR reporting,” wrote DJV federal chairman Mika Beuster in a journalists’ union post on LinkedIn, defending the work of the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk journalists.
»Public broadcasting in general and the MDR in particular are guarantees of unbiased and independent reporting. This must continue to apply – whether the AfD likes it or not,” Beuster continued. Beuster called on those responsible for the MDR to defend themselves with all available means in the event of the state contract being terminated.
The SPD foreign politician Ralf Stegner has warned his party colleagues not to question the federal government. “Government responsibility is not ‘nice to have’,” Stegner told the world. That's what the party is there for: "making politics for the citizens."
If the federal government were to break up, there would be three possible consequences, said Stegner. "Either the CDU governs with the AfD - I don't think they will do that." Or there is a minority government with a right-wing majority, "then there is right-wing extremist influence, just without the SPD having anything to report." The third option is new elections.
BSW party founder Sahra Wagenknecht calls for a “new political beginning” in Saxony-Anhalt. She is hoping for majorities in the Magdeburg state parliament “for a change of course in energy policy, an end to the Russia sanctions, better education and a fundamental reform of public broadcasting,” Wagenknecht told the dpa news agency.
Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk congratulated the AfD on its election victory and received an offer of cooperation. “Well done!” Musk wrote on his online platform X as a comment on a post by AfD chairwoman Alice Weidel. Ulrich Siegmund thanked Musk for his “support.”
Former US ambassador Richard Grenell also congratulated the AfD on X. "A great victory and a new day in Germany," wrote Grenell.
According to the preliminary results of the State Statistical Office, the AfD clearly won the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt. She therefore received 43.8 percent of the votes.
The CDU did not win a single direct mandate. According to preliminary figures from the state election authorities, they did not make it into any of the 41 constituencies. The vast majority of these – namely 38 direct mandates – went to AfD candidates.
AfD top candidate Ulrich Siegmund won the direct mandate in his constituency by a clear margin. According to the state returning officer, he received 49 percent of the first votes in the Genthin constituency.
The French European Minister Benjamin Haddad wrote on X about a “grave moment” in Europe. »We must humbly listen to and respond to anger, worries and fears. But nationalism and xenophobia will never be a solution,” wrote Haddad.
The Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorials Foundation have warned of a “historical turning point”. According to election forecasts, the AfD could take over the state government.
The Berlin SPD top candidate Steffen Krach has spoken out in favor of considering a ban on the AfD party.
According to the Magdeburg police, the election weekend went smoothly. The officers only recorded isolated crimes.
Saxony-Anhalt's Prime Minister Sven Schulze (CDU) has lost the direct mandate in his constituency. In the Magdeburg III constituency, according to preliminary results, he received 31.7 percent and was therefore behind the first-placed AfD candidate Christian Mertens, who achieved 35.2 percent.
