Saxony-Anhalt vote tests Germany’s firewall against the far right
The AfD is leading surveys in Saxony-Anhalt, but its path to state power depends on whether smaller parties clear the parliamentary threshold.
Voters in Germany’s eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt are casting ballots in an election that could see the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) become the first far-right party to take state-level power since World War II, according to Al Jazeera.
Surveys cited by Al Jazeera put the AfD on 40 per cent, ahead of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) on 23 per cent. The figures are estimates rather than results, and the outcome remains uncertain.
The AfD could secure an outright majority if several smaller parties fail to clear the five per cent threshold for entry to the state parliament. If it falls short, a CDU-led administration under incumbent premier Sven Schulze remains the most likely outcome.
Coalition negotiations could take weeks, depending on which parties enter parliament. Germany’s mainstream parties maintain a policy of non-cooperation with the AfD, although the party has already bypassed that “firewall” at local level.
The election is also being watched as a test of the AfD’s broader ambition to win national power at the 2029 federal election. AfD candidate Ulrich Siegmund has predicted an outright majority, while Chancellor and CDU leader Friedrich Merz has urged politicians to engage more effectively with AfD voters and address their concerns.
Organisers estimated that between 15,000 and 20,000 people attended a pro-democracy demonstration before the vote. Initial results were expected at about 16:00 GMT on Sunday.
