Saxony-Anhalt Election: AfD Leads with 42 Percent, Could Lead to a Historic Far-Right Takeover

A majority of the nearly 1 million 690 thousand voters in Saxony-Anhalt, with a population of approximately 2.8 million, will go to the polls today in elections that will determine the fate of the state and affect Germany. In recent polls, the far-right AfD appears to be the clear first party. According to the latest survey conducted by the "Election Research Group" on behalf of the German state television channel ZDF in Saxony-Anhalt between September 1-3, it is expected that the AfD will receive 42 percent of the votes in today's elections, the Christian Democratic Union Party (CDU) will receive 23 percent, the Left Party will receive 11.5 percent, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) will receive 8.5 percent and the Greens will receive 6 percent. It is predicted that the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) will receive 4 percent of the votes and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) will receive 3 percent of the votes and remain below the 5 percent threshold. In the elections held on June 6, 2021 in Saxony-Anhalt, the CDU received 37.1 percent of the votes, the AfD 20.8 percent, the Left Party 11 percent, the SPD 8.4 percent, the FDP 6.4 percent, and the Greens 5.9 percent.

Although AfD's candidate for state prime minister, Ulrich Siegmund, said, "We will not aspire to power if we cannot achieve an absolute majority," the scenario of AfD power with the external support of some parliamentarians from BSW or CDU is within the realm of possibility. The AfD's possible rule will mean the first far-right government in the Federal Republic of Germany, which was officially established with the adoption of the German Constitution on May 23, 1949, after the Second World War. It is considered that AfD, which is constantly increasing its vote rate, can be seen as a real government alternative in the general elections to be held in 2029.