The leader of the far-right formation Alternative for Germany (AfD), Alice Weidel, has celebrated the "historic" result obtained in the regional elections of Saxony-Anhalt, where exit polls grant her around 44% of the votes. Weidel has emphasized that this is a "clear mandate to govern" in what could become the first German region led by this party.
"It is a historic result. Let's see what more the afternoon brings us," Weidel declared, according to the German television ZDF. "This is a clear mandate to govern," she argued, claiming AfD's right to lead the next regional government.
In the same vein, the AfD leader in Saxony-Anhalt, Ulrich Siegmund, has insisted on the idea of a "clear mandate to govern," although projections grant them between 39 and 41 seats, below the 42 needed to achieve an absolute majority in the regional parliament.
"We have always said that we are willing to dialogue. Our hand is always extended to improve, for a good Germany and, above all, for a good Saxony-Anhalt," Siegmund stated, presenting himself as willing to negotiate with other forces.
The regional leader of AfD has announced his intention to open talks with the other represented parties with the aim of promoting a political shift in the state. "We have made history in this state. What you will not see is me folding by renouncing our values for power," he pointed out, ruling out concessions that, in his opinion, compromise the identity markers of the formation.
During the electoral campaign, Siegmund had reiterated that AfD would only accept to govern if it obtained an absolute majority, while the other parties have categorically ruled out any cooperation with AfD, considering it a far-right party.
According to the polls from the public televisions ARD and ZDF, AfD would be positioned between 39 and 41 seats thanks to support of 44.5 or 44% of the electorate. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) would remain quite far behind, obtaining around 16 deputies with 18.5% support (18.6 points less than in the previous elections).
In third position would be tied the historic Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), The Left and The Greens, with 9% of the votes and between 8 and 9 seats each. In sixth place would be the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), with 5% of the votes, ahead of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), which would remain at 2% and out of the regional parliament, since the minimum threshold to achieve representation is 5%.
Participation has become another of the highlighted data of the electoral day, reaching 80% of the census at the close of the polling stations, well above the 60.3% recorded in the previous elections in Saxony-Anhalt.