Protests before the state parliament session in Saxony-Anhalt against the AfD president

Even before the inaugural state parliament session in Saxony-Anhalt began, hundreds of people demonstrated in front of the parliament in Magdeburg.

People had been coming together on Cathedral Square since early morning, as dpa reporters reported. Among other things, they read aloud from the Basic Law.

The protest is primarily directed against the possible election of an AfD state parliament president. The party, which is classified as right-wing extremist by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Saxony-Anhalt, could nominate a state parliament president in Germany for the first time with its candidate Tobias Rausch. The President of the State Parliament is the highest representative of the parliament and therefore also of the federal state. Among other things, he chairs the meetings of the state parliament and is also head of the state parliament administration.

Several AfD politicians also joined the demonstrators on the square in front of the state parliament, including co-parliamentary group leader Ulrich Siegmund, who wants to be elected prime minister in December. The appearance of the AfD politicians was accompanied by whistles.