There is great interest in the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt - by early afternoon more than one in two people had already cast their vote. At 2 p.m., voter turnout was 54.4 percent, as state returning officer Christa Dieckmann announced in Magdeburg. In the state election five years ago, voter turnout at the same time was only 27.1 percent; in 2016 it was 35.4 percent. The database is based on random feedback from representative polling districts, it said. Voter turnout is determined at these times without postal voting. Around 1.7 million eligible voters are called to vote.
The total of around 2,130 polling stations in the country are open until 6 p.m. today.
The election is being watched with excitement in the country, but also far beyond, because the AfD was well ahead of Prime Minister Sven Schulze's CDU in all surveys and has declared a sole government as its goal.
The police in Saxony-Anhalt are on duty with all available forces. Support was also requested from other federal states. On the one hand, according to the Interior Ministry, the police are present across the board in order to guarantee the free and uninfluenced exercise of the right to vote, as guaranteed by the Basic Law. In addition, several demonstrations were registered for Sunday, starting in the afternoon in Magdeburg, for example on the cathedral square under the motto “Saxony-Anhalt excites me! Saxony-Anhalt remains open to the world!”.
The parties' election parties and the state parliament's central event in the Magdeburg exhibition halls must also be secured. According to the state parliament administration, several hundred media representatives have registered to report, many from abroad.
In the morning, the top candidates went to the polls in their homes. AfD top candidate Ulrich Siegmund drove with his wife to the polling station in his hometown of Tangermünde on a blue Simson. Siegmund was often out and about on his moped during the election campaign, including for rides with voters. Prime Minister Schulze, who is fighting to remain in office, also voted with his wife. “Then let’s wait and see,” said the 47-year-old after casting his vote.
The voters decide on the composition of the new state parliament in Magdeburg. Two crosses can be placed on the ballot paper: the first vote elects the direct candidate, and the second vote elects a party. Parliament will later elect the Prime Minister again.
In all surveys, the AfD with its 35-year-old top candidate Siegmund was well ahead of Prime Minister Schulze's CDU. The party, which the Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Saxony-Anhalt has classified as a right-wing extremist, has declared a sole government as its goal. However, the most recent survey results did not indicate this.
In the last survey before the election, the AfD got 41 percent. The CDU was at 23 percent in the survey published on Thursday by the elections research group on behalf of ZDF. The Left followed in third place with 11.5 percent, the SPD had 8.5 percent, and the Greens had 6 percent. The BSW with 4 percent and the FDP with 3 percent would fail at the five percent hurdle and thus miss out on entering parliament. However, polls are not a reliable predictor of the actual election outcome.
Nobody wants to go with the AfD - and the AfD only wants to go alone
If the AfD does not achieve an absolute majority, it would have to rely on alliance partners to come to government. But: None of the other parties want to form a coalition with her. Siegmund, in turn, recently confirmed that he will only stand for election as head of government if his party wins an absolute majority and can govern alone.
If the AfD misses this goal, a CDU-led minority government could come into play. However, this could rely on votes from the left - similar to Saxony and Thuringia. The problem: In a party conference resolution, the CDU rejects a coalition and “similar forms of cooperation” with the Left as well as with the AfD.
Schulze's dream scenario of a majority for the so-called center parties - such as the CDU, SPD and Greens - seems very unlikely given the polls.
The duel between Schulze and Siegmund
The CDU top candidate has only been head of government since January following the resignation of Reiner Haseloff. Schulze was therefore unable to benefit from the incumbent bonus to the same extent as a long-standing head of government. When asked who one would prefer to have as Prime Minister, in the last survey by the Elections Research Group he came in with 48 percent, but clearly ahead of the AfD's top candidate Siegmund (34 percent), who was celebrated like a pop star in many of his election campaign appearances.
What happens after the election?
In two weeks there will be elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin. Just as now in Saxony-Anhalt, it is also about the effects on federal politics. Chancellor Friedrich Merz recently rejected speculation that he could be forced out of office by his own party if there was a debacle for the CDU in the September elections.
The first session of the new state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt must take place no later than the 30th day after the election, which is October 6th. Then the terms of office of the ministers and the head of government also end. However, according to the constitution, they are obliged to continue running the business until their successors take over. There is no deadline by which a new head of government must be elected, but there are deadlines for possible further elections if the first and subsequent rounds fail.
