Overview
- The AfD topped the vote in Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday, Sept. 6 with about 43.8% and is projected to hold roughly 39 of 83 seats, three short of an absolute majority in the Landtag.
- Parliamentary arithmetic is unresolved because the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance’s final share near the 5% threshold will determine whether AfD can reach a majority or whether other parties can combine to block it.
- The conservative CDU collapsed to roughly 17–18%, a loss of about half its regional support, while turnout surged to around 77–78%, amplifying the scale and legitimacy of the AfD win.
- Saxony-Anhalt’s AfD branch is formally monitored by regional intelligence as showing extremist tendencies and its campaign included proposals for immediate deportations, shrinking emphasis on Nazi history in schools, and segregated classes for refugee children.
- The result has provoked mass protests and international concern, put pressure on Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the CDU’s strategy, and raises stakes for two more regional votes on Sept. 20 that will test whether this is a one-off surge or a broader realignment.