By late afternoon, more people had already cast their votes in the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt than five years ago. The voter turnout was 65.3 percent by 4 p.m., as the returning officer Christa Dieckmann announced. In 2021, turnout in the election at the same time was 41 percent; overall at that time it was 60.3 percent.
Voter turnout is determined before the polling stations close without postal voting. Around 1.7 million eligible voters are called to vote this year. The total of around 2,130 polling stations in the country are open until 6 p.m. today.
For Ulrich Siegmund, the AfD's top candidate, the state election is historic - no matter how it turns out. “We have already made history anyway,” said Siegmund in front of his polling station in Tangermünde, where numerous supporters and journalists were waiting. The AfD politician recently irritated people by saying that it was unclear whether he would even want to be elected prime minister in the event of an absolute majority. "We will decide on Monday. Let's see how it turns out," Siegmund told the Bild newspaper.
Voter turnout in Saxony-Anhalt is apparently very high: according to the state returning officer, it reached 54.4 percent at 2 p.m. At the same time, it was only 27.1 percent in the 2021 state election. The database is based on random feedback from the representative election offices. It is said that voter turnout is currently being determined without postal voting. The nationwide voter turnout from all electoral districts (postal and ballot box voting districts) will only be determined from 6 p.m. and will be announced with the provisional results.
In the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, voter turnout by midday was significantly higher than five years ago. By 12 p.m., 34.7 percent of those eligible to vote had cast their votes, as the state returning officer announced. At the same time in the 2021 election year, voter turnout was reportedly 22.4 percent. In the end, voter turnout was 60.3 percent, including postal voters. The state returning officer expects a preliminary final result early on Monday morning.
The incumbent Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt, Sven Schulze, voted in Magdeburg. The election campaign was a stressful time, said the CDU top candidate in front of the polling station. He had previously gone to the ballot box with his wife to throw in the ballot paper. “Then we’ll just wait and see,” said Schulze after casting his vote.
In Saxony-Anhalt, the polling stations are open for the state elections. People have been able to cast their votes since 8 a.m. Almost 1.7 million citizens aged 18 and over are entitled to vote. The polling stations are open until 6 p.m. The counting then begins. The state returning officer expects a preliminary final result early on Monday morning.
Before the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, the head of the Dax group Siemens Energy strongly warns against the economic policy of the AfD. The party's program, which, among other things, calls for a return to coal and nuclear power, is bad for Germany as a business location and partially attacks democratic structures, said Christian Bruch of the German Press Agency. “I think that’s absolutely critical.”
Bruch emphasized: "Our company and our German jobs depend on us exporting, on bringing international skilled workers to Germany and on foreign investors being able to rely on political stability. And if that doesn't happen, then it will be disadvantageous for Germany as a business location." He is therefore looking at the election in Saxony-Anhalt with great concern.
A new state parliament will be elected in Saxony-Anhalt this Sunday. Almost 1.7 million eligible voters are called to cast their votes. Polling stations open at 8 a.m. and close at 6 p.m. The election is being followed with great interest nationally and internationally. The focus is on the question of how well the AfD performs and whether it will come into government in a federal state for the first time.
One day before the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, thousands of people took to the streets in Magdeburg to demonstrate for democracy and cosmopolitanism. According to police information, around 6,000 people were already taking part in feeder demonstrations before the official start of a democracy festival on Cathedral Square.
The day before the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) called for a stronger debate on the content of the AfD. “We have to conduct the debate with this party better,” he said at a campaign event in Lower Saxony.
Brandenburg's SPD Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke advises his party to take a clear stance in view of weak nationwide poll numbers. “The party leadership must take the dissatisfaction in the SPD and the weak poll numbers seriously,” said Woidke to the German Press Agency.
Federal Education Minister Karin Prien is strictly against the abolition of compulsory schooling called for by the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt. “Giving up compulsory schooling would be a socio-political catastrophe,” said the CDU politician to the German Press Agency.
In the state elections on Sunday in Saxony-Anhalt, major election research institutes do not expect any surprises like five years ago, when the AfD finished weaker than in the polls and the CDU significantly stronger than expected. “We do not expect such a large mobilization effect in the last few days as in 2021,” said the head of the elections research group, Matthias Jung.
The public children's broadcaster KiKA is criticized for a half-hour interview with the AfD's top candidate for the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt. This is reported by the magazine “Der Spiegel”. As part of a student interview, the state student representative of Saxony-Anhalt spoke to the AfD politician.
Before the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, AfD lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund confirmed that he would only stand for election as head of government if his party won an absolute majority and could govern alone.
Shortly before the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, BSW top candidate Claudia Wittig once again signaled her willingness to work with the AfD. Politics must be based on content, it is about good politics for the country, she said in the ZDF “Morgenmagazin”.
