Election in Saxony-AnhaltPreliminary results: AfD misses an absolute majority - BSW enters the state parliament
September 7, 2026, 3:37 am|
The party, which is classified as right-wing extremist in Saxony-Anhalt, achieved record results, but according to preliminary results missed an absolute majority. The BSW succeeds in entering the state parliament.
All developments in the live blog
In addition to our own research, we use material from the news agencies dpa, Reuters, epd, KNA and Bloomberg for our live blog. You can also find all the news, analyzes and background information on the election in Saxony-Anhalt on our topic page.
Important updates
CDU does not win a single direct mandate
Siegmund also successful in the constituency – won a direct mandate
Schulze also defeated in the fight for a direct mandate
Election evening in brief: AfD doubles its result, the CDU collapses - so far no clear government majority
The AfD has never been so close to power: the election analysis in the video
Preliminary results: AfD misses an absolute majority – BSW enters the state parliament
The AfD with its top candidate Ulrich Siegmund won the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt with a large lead (43.8 percent), but missed an absolute majority. The CDU with Prime Minister Sven Schulze comes in second place with bitter losses (17.2 percent), as can be seen from the preliminary results published on the website of the state returning officer.
There was initially no information about the mandates in the state parliament. According to the latest projections, the AfD could be the first time since the end of the Second World War that a party classified as right-wing extremist could come to power in a federal state - but it would need supporters to do so. It is unclear whether she will be able to convince individual members of other parliamentary groups to vote for Siegmund as Prime Minister. The other parties in the state parliament had ruled out a coalition with the AfD before the election.
According to the preliminary results, the Left lost votes and achieved 8.6 percent, the SPD remained in single digits with 9.3 percent. The Greens achieved their best result in state elections in Saxony-Anhalt with 8.9 percent. The FDP fails at the five percent hurdle and only manages 2.6 percent - state leader Sylvia Hüskens announced her resignation. The Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) had to tremble for a long time, but is now entering the state parliament in Magdeburg for the first time with 5.3 percent of the vote.
This is how Saxony-Anhalt voted – provisional result
The preliminary results of the state election in Saxony-Anhalt after counting all 2,661 electoral districts were given by the state election management at 2:56 a.m. as follows:
AfD: 43.8%
CDU: 17.2%
Left: 8.6%
SPD: 9.3%
Greens: 8.9%
BSW: 5.3%
FDP: 2.6%
Other: 4.4%
According to the information, voter turnout was 77.8 percent. In the last election in 2021 it was 60.3 percent.
“Well done!”: Musk congratulates the AfD on its election triumph
Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, who has long sympathized with the AfD, congratulated the right-wing party on its election victory in Saxony-Anhalt - and in return received a direct offer of cooperation. "Well done!" Musk wrote on his online platform
Siegmund immediately replied to the richest man in the world and thanked him for his "support". The AfD frontman wrote in English: "If we take responsibility here, I would very much welcome the opportunity for strong and constructive cooperation. Germany would then again be a location worth investing in. Best wishes from Saxony-Anhalt!"
The US ambassador Richard Grenell, who was previously stationed in Berlin and who, like Musk, has close ties to US President Donald Trump, also congratulated the AfD on
CDU does not win a single direct mandate
The CDU did not win a single direct mandate in the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt. In all 41 constituencies, the candidates of the previous governing party had to admit defeat according to preliminary figures from the state election authorities. AfD candidates prevailed in 38 constituencies, including top candidate Ulrich Siegmund in the Genthin constituency. The AfD only failed to make a breakthrough in the large cities of Magdeburg and Halle.
In a Magdeburg constituency and two constituencies in Halle, two candidates and one female candidate from the Left won the direct mandate. In the 2021 state elections, the CDU secured a direct mandate in 40 of the 41 constituencies; one direct mandate went to the AfD at the time.
The first vote is decisive for the election of the direct candidate; the distribution of seats in the state parliament is determined from the second vote result.
Siegmund also successful in the constituency – won a direct mandate
AfD leading candidate Ulrich Siegmund also won a clear victory in his constituency in the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt. The 35-year-old won the direct mandate in the Genthin constituency with a large lead over CDU candidate Thomas Staudt.
Siegmund received 49.0 percent of the first votes, Staudt received 24.0 percent, according to the state election authorities. Siegmund increased by 22.4 percentage points compared to 2021. In the state elections five years ago, Staudt won the direct mandate in the Genthin constituency.
Schulze also defeated in the fight for a direct mandate
Saxony-Anhalt's CDU chairman Sven Schulze failed with his party in the state elections not only at the state level, but also in his own constituency. Schulze, who ran as a direct candidate in a state election for the first time, lost in the Magdeburg III constituency to AfD candidate Christian Mertens.
According to the state election authorities, the Prime Minister received 31.7 percent of the first votes, Mertens received 35.2 percent.
Election evening in brief: AfD doubles its result, the CDU collapses - so far no clear government majority
The AfD clearly won the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt. The party, which the Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Saxony-Anhalt has classified as a right-wing extremist, has more than doubled its result compared to the last state election and is, according to projections, at a good 44 percent. However, as of 11:30 p.m., it is not enough for an absolute majority of seats.
The previously ruling CDU halved its 2021 result. It received significantly less than 20 percent of all votes cast. The incumbent Prime Minister Sven Schulze has admitted his defeat and congratulated the AfD. "This is democracy," he said at his party's election party.
According to current projections, the Left has around 8.5 percent of the vote, the Greens and the SPD each have just under 9 percent. According to current projections, the BSW will make it over the five percent hurdle. It looks as if the party will make it into the state parliament. This would mean the AfD would move further away from an absolute majority.
As the reporters surround him, Schulze flees into a conference room
There isn't much left of the CDU election party in Magdeburg's Maritim Hotel around 9 p.m. A few Christian Democrats are watching football summaries on MDR in the foyer. Celebrity supporter Dieter Hallervorden has already left, but not without first offering his election analysis: Chancellor Friedrich Merz is "a lot to blame for the fact that the CDU is no longer trusted nationwide," said the cabaret artist. That was "bad accompaniment" for Sven Schulze's election campaign in Saxony-Anhalt.
But there are also people in the state CDU who see a certain degree of responsibility for the drop to around 17.5 percent - a fifth less than in the 2021 state election - on the top candidate Schulze himself.
Sven Schulze and his wife Kati Schulze (right) in the Maritim Hotel. Kay Nietfeld/dpa
At the bar tables in the hotel's huge foyer, a resolution from the regional association of the Junge Union is causing a lot of conversation. The young people are calling on Schulze to resign as party chairman. In an ARD interview, Schulze at least hinted at his willingness to do so: he feels a lot of support, says the Prime Minister, but "in the end it's no use."
It is shortly after nine o'clock when Sven Schulze returns to the election party at Maritim. Barely three hours earlier, he had admitted his defeat here with a mixture of dignity and bitterness: "This is democracy."
The applause quickly dies down; instead, party members line up to hug him, often without saying a word. A touching moment on a brutal evening for Sven Schulze. As the photographers and reporters surround him, he flees into a conference room with a few confidants. On Monday, the CDU committees want to discuss how to proceed.
Siegmund: If necessary, new elections
If it doesn't work out to form a government in Saxony-Anhalt, AfD top candidate Ulrich Siegmund believes a new election is also an option. Siegmund sees the election victory as a clear government mandate for his party, but emphasized several times during the election evening that he was not prepared to "bend."
"In an emergency there would be new elections, then we would have 50 or 55 percent."
Ulrich Siegmund, AfD top candidate
The CDU, SPD, Greens and Left rule out any collaboration with the AfD. BSW boss Claudia Wittig said she did not want to vote for Siegmund, but was committed to a non-partisan head of government.
Trump posts projections for the Saxony-Anhalt election
US President Donald Trump discussed the state election in Saxony-Anhalt on his Truth Social account. He posted an image of a projection there as of 7:57 p.m. (German time). Trump left the bar graph showing the AfD's victory alone and did not comment further on it.
The AfD has long been seeking proximity and contact with Trump and his party, the Republicans. Trump's Saxony-Anhalt post was one of many posts that appeared on his account within a very short time on various topics.
BSW entry is becoming more likely according to the latest projections
The entry of the BSW into the state parliament remains a tremor. Infratest dimap sees the party at 5.1 percent in the ARD projection from 9:08 p.m., the ZDF elections research group at exactly five percent (9:12 p.m.). ARD election expert Jörg Schönenborn now puts the probability of entry at 70:30.
If the BSW makes it into the state parliament, the party could play a decisive role in the election of the Prime Minister. According to projections by ZDF and ARD, the AfD would have 39 mandates, the CDU, Left, SPD and Greens together would have 40. With a total of 83 seats, 42 votes would be needed for an absolute majority. In the first two rounds of voting, neither camp would have a majority of its own. The four mandates of the BSW could be the deciding factor.
In a third round, however, the majority of votes cast would count. Abstentions will not be taken into account. Depending on the final distribution of seats, the BSW could decide by abstaining - for Sven Schulze from the CDU or for AfD top candidate Ulrich Siegmund. However, it is not yet clear whether the BSW will make it over the five percent hurdle, nor which camp will ultimately have more mandates.
Protests in Berlin and Frankfurt against AfD triumph
After the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, there were protests against the AfD in several German cities: In Frankfurt am Main, according to police reports, around 2,500 people demonstrated to call for a ban on the AfD, the clear election winner, to be examined. Hundreds of people also took to the streets in Berlin that evening with similar demands. There were also demonstrations in Mainz.
In the evening, a protest march marched through Berlin's government district under the motto "Defend democracy! - AfD ban now!" to the state representation of Saxony-Anhalt. The police said the number of demonstrators was in the low three-digit range. There were also demonstrations at the Brandenburg Gate. A larger rally against the AfD at the Brandenburg Gate has been announced for Monday evening. According to the police, 5,000 people are expected from 6 p.m.
A demonstrator holds a banner with the inscription "Make racists afraid again" during a protest against the AfD in Berlin. The rally takes place on the day of the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt. Maryam Majd/Reuters
Looking forward to Siegmund at the AfD election party
In the Old Theater everyone is waiting for Ulrich Siegmund to arrive, who is scheduled to appear here in a few minutes. Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla are also there. A best version of Martin Luther King's "I have a Dream" comes off the tape.
Iris Mayer
International reactions: FPÖ leader already sees Weidel as future chancellor
The head of the right-wing Austrian FPÖ party, Herbert Kickl, described the AfD's electoral success in Saxony-Anhalt as a sign of political upheaval in Germany. “Today, the strong wind of freedom from 1989 is blowing through Germany again,” said Kickl, drawing a comparison to the fall of the Berlin Wall. The voters in Saxony-Anhalt have torn down the “undemocratic firewall” against the AfD, said Kickl. The "patriotic turnaround" in Germany is gaining momentum and will "ultimately achieve its final breakthrough with a Chancellor Alice Weidel," said opposition politician Kickl about the AfD leader.
Italy's Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini congratulated the AfD on its performance in the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt. “Congratulations to my friend Alice Weidel and the entire AfD on their triumph in Saxony-Anhalt!” wrote the head of the right-wing populist ruling party Lega on X.
Meanwhile, Italy's Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani describes the AfD's performance in the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt as "extremely bad news". The head of the conservative ruling party Forza Italia said in a statement that he hoped the AfD's electoral success in the eastern German state would remain a "local exception."
The Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was stunned by the AfD's success in the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt. “In Poland, only idiots or traitors can enjoy the triumph of the AfD in Germany,” wrote the liberal-conservative politician on the online platform
In the neighboring country Czech
