Voting ended at 18:00 local time in the state, where 1.7 million voters have the right to vote.
According to the first exit poll announced by German First Television ARD, AfD increased its vote rate by 23.7 points compared to the elections held 5 years ago and came first with 44.5 percent.
Exit polls show that the AfD narrowly missed its target of becoming a majority in the state parliament, and that it needs a coalition to form a state government.
For a government without AfD in the state, all other parties must be included in the coalition.
According to the exit polls, the federal government's major partner, the Christian Democratic Union Party (CDU), lost 18.6 points compared to the previous election in 2021 and became the second party with 18.5 percent.
The Left Party also lost 1.5 points in the vote rate compared to the last election, coming out third with 9.5 percent, and the Greens coming out fourth with 9 percent.
The Social Democratic Party (SPD), which lost 0.4 points of votes compared to the previous election, became the fifth party with 8 percent.
The Alliance for Social Justice and Economic Understanding (BSW) also qualified to join the parliament by receiving 5 percent of the votes, according to the exit polls. It is not yet known whether BSW will pass the 5 percent threshold.
The Free Democratic Party (FDP) lost 4.4 points compared to the previous election, received 2 percent of the votes and could not pass the threshold.
Final election results are expected to be announced tonight or tomorrow.
US PRESIDENT TRUMP SHARED A GRAPH OF THE ELECTION RESULTS IN GERMANY, WHICH AFD CAME FIRST.
US President Donald Trump shared a graphic showing the election results after the far-right Alternative for Germany Party (AfD) came first in the Saxony-Anhalt State Assembly election in Germany, according to exit polls.
Trump shared on his social media account.
Trump, who included a graphic showing AfD's election victory in his post, did not make an evaluation on the issue.
According to exit polls in Germany, AfD came first with 44.5 percent of the votes in the elections where 1.7 million voters had the right to vote.
Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Agency for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), classified the AfD as a "definite far-right formation" on May 2, 2025, after a three-year investigation.
In his statement on the subject, US Vice President JD Vance criticized BfV's decision, stating that "it is very dangerous to use the intelligence agency to delegitimize the competing political party."
Additionally, in his speech at the 61st Munich Security Conference (MSC 2025), Vance responded to the discussions of politicians in Germany about distancing themselves from the AfD: "There is no room for firewalls." He made a direct reference to the statement.
IT MADE A WIDE REFLECTION IN THE WORLD
USA
In the post made on the social media account of the US-based Bloomberg site, it was stated that "As the public's increasing discontent continues, the AfD won."
In the post regarding the news titled "The far-right AfD party in Germany is preparing to win the state elections, but it will not be able to gain the majority", it is stated that "It is estimated that AfD will not be able to obtain an absolute majority to form a government." evaluation was made.
CNN channel reported, "According to exit polls, Germany's far-right AfD party is predicted to win the eastern state elections, but it is unclear whether the results will be sufficient to come to power." comment was made.
The New York Times reported that AfD is predicted to win the election, but it is unclear whether it will win the majority.
The Wall Street Journal newspaper also included the assessment that if AfD wins the election, "it will be a historic victory."
ENGLAND
In the post made on the BBC's social media account, it was pointed out that the AfD was predicted to win the elections with at least 44 percent of the votes. In the channel's news, the election results were interpreted as the "great victory" of the AfD.
In the Financial Times newspaper's report, AfD's victory in the election was brought to the agenda with the title "According to exit polls, the far-right AfD came to the fore in the state elections in Germany."
In the post about the elections made on the social media account of Sky News channel, it was stated that AfD was expected to win the election with 44.5 percent of the votes.
In the post made on The Telegraph newspaper's account, AfD's election victory was described as a "great victory".
In the post, it was stated that the AfD "is close to gaining an absolute majority and is expected to win 39 seats in the State Assembly instead of 42."
The headline of the news read: "The anti-immigrant AfD is preparing to achieve a landslide election victory in eastern Germany."
FRANCE
In the post shared on the social media account of the French AFP agency, the AfD's victory in the election was described as an "overwhelming victory".
GERMANY
In the post shared on the Turkish social media account of Deutsche Welle (DW), Germany's public international broadcaster, exit poll data was included.
QATAR
In a social media post by Qatar's Al Jazeera television, it was noted that the AfD's victory was "the first election won by a far-right party in state elections since the Second World War."
