Saxony-Anhalt election 2024: AfD could take government power for the first time since 1945

There have been more than 240 state elections since the Federal Republic was founded, but this one is special. In Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD could come to government for the first time since the Second World War, a party whose state association is classified by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as definitely right-wing extremist.

Who can vote?

Almost 1.7 million eligible voters can vote on which parties and people will sit for them in the new state parliament. In each of the 41 constituencies they elect a direct candidate with their first vote. In addition, 42 additional MPs are usually selected via the second vote. However, only parties that get at least five percent of the second votes are taken into account. This is intended to prevent parliament from fragmenting and thus ensure its ability to function.

The specified number of 83 members of the state parliament will be deviated from under certain conditions - for example if overhang and compensatory mandates arise.

All Germans who are at least 18 years old and have had their main residence in Saxony-Anhalt for at least three months are allowed to vote.

Who is competing?

In the 8th electoral term that is now coming to an end, the CDU, the AfD, the Left, the SPD as well as the FDP and the Greens are represented in the Magdeburg state parliament. All of these parties are running for re-election. There are also nine other state election proposals, including the BSW founded by Sahra Wagenknecht, the Free Voters, Volt and the Animal Welfare Party.

Saxony-Anhalt has been firmly in the hands of the CDU for more than two decades, which governed there with changing alliance partners. The CDU's top candidate is Prime Minister Sven Schulze. The 47-year-old only took over the helm as head of government from predecessor Reiner Haseloff (CDU) in January.

The AfD is sending 35-year-old Ulrich Siegmund into the race as a competitor, who attracted large crowds in many places during the election campaign.

The other parties have also put forward top candidates, but according to the surveys they have virtually no chance of being elected as head of government. For the Left, this is parliamentary group leader Eva von Angern, for the SPD, Science Minister and former university rector Armin Willingmann. The Greens have nominated the trained health and nursing nurse Susan Sziborra-Seidlitz. The FDP relies on state leader Lydia Hüskens, the BSW on the duo Thomas Schulze and Claudia Wittig.

What is the starting position?

A coalition of CDU, SPD and FDP currently governs Saxony-Anhalt. However, according to all polls, the alliance will lose its majority. The AfD is likely to be by far the strongest force. From this she could derive the political claim to appoint the Prime Minister and lead the government.

According to the pre-election survey by Infratest dimap from August 26th, the AfD has 42 percent. The CDU has 22 percent, the Left has 11 percent, the SPD has eight percent and the Greens has six percent. The BSW is at four percent, and the FDP also remains below the five percent hurdle at three percent.

What government options are there?

Top candidate Siegmund recently emphasized that he wanted to govern alone and would only stand for election as head of government if his party won an absolute majority of the votes. This is the only way he can implement what his party has announced.

He is also unlikely to find a government partner: none of the other parties want to form a coalition with the AfD. However, BSW founder Wagenknecht has announced that her party could certainly help an AfD prime minister to power - by abstaining in the decisive ballot. Siegmund asserts that he does not want such a scenario.

A possible scenario could be a minority government led by the CDU, which could also rely on votes from the left - similar to Saxony and Thuringia. The problem: In a party conference resolution, the CDU rejects a coalition or similar forms of cooperation with the Left as well as with the AfD.

CDU top candidate Schulze recently responded evasively to the question of whether he would be elected head of government with the votes of the Left if necessary. The incumbent Prime Minister said he would look at the election results and see “how we can deal with it.” He emphasized that formal government alliances with the Left Party and the AfD were unthinkable for him.

What were the most important election campaign issues?

The dominant, overarching theme was the prospect that the AfD, a party classified as right-wing extremist by the state Office for the Protection of the Constitution, could come to government power. The SPD, for example, posted posters saying “foresight instead of slogans,” while the CDU warned that Saxony-Anhalt “should not become a test laboratory.” The Left called itself the “pole of hope” against the shift to the right, the Greens posted posters: “Saxony-Anhalt is our home and must not become a test laboratory.”

In addition to migration policy - the AfD called for the "asylum chaos" to be stopped - the content was also about the shrinking population and education policy. The AfD's plan to weaken compulsory schooling and allow parents to teach their children at home was particularly controversial.

How is the election going?

The polling stations in around 2,600 electoral districts are open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. In the style of US President Donald Trump, the AfD had sowed doubts about the correct process in recent weeks. Top candidate Ulrich Siegmund called for people to pay close attention to the counting at the polling stations and also to postal voters in nursing homes, because old people are often "guided." At the same time, he admitted that he had no evidence for his claim.

Looking is practically no problem because, according to the electoral regulations, anyone can observe the election. This applies to both the submission of ballot papers at the polling station and the counting of ballots and postal votes in the evening. On election day, around 22,000 poll workers are on duty across the country.

What happens after the election?

According to the state constitution, the new state parliament must meet for the first time no later than the 30th day after the election, i.e. on October 6th. Then the terms of office of the ministers and the head of government end. However, they are obliged to continue their official duties until their successors take over.

The first session is opened by the senior president, the member of parliament who has been represented in the state parliament for the longest time. He or she chairs the meeting until a new state parliament president is elected. According to the rules of procedure, the strongest group proposes a representative for election as president. If the candidate fails in the first attempt, all other factions can also send applicants into the race. This is regulated by a parliamentary reform passed in April by the CDU, SPD, FDP, Left Party and Greens.

The Prime Minister is elected by secret ballot without debate. There is no deadline by which this must happen. The person who receives the votes of the majority of members in the first round of voting is elected.

If the election does not work on the first attempt, deadlines apply: another round of voting must take place within seven days. If the election does not take place, the state parliament will decide within a further 14 days whether the electoral period will be ended early. If this is not decided by the majority of the members of the state parliament, another round of voting will take place immediately. The person who receives the majority of the votes cast is then elected.

With information from the dpa news agency