The far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) has won in the regional elections of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, but without reaching the necessary support to govern alone, which opens the door to a future executive supported by the rest of the political forces. The polling stations closed at 6:00 PM.
According to the exit polls released by the public broadcasters ARD and ZDF, AfD would obtain between 39 and 41 seats, resulting from a support of 44.5 or 44% of the votes cast, falling just short of the 42 seats required to achieve an absolute majority in the regional parliament.
In second place would be the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), with 18.5% of the votes according to both polls, which would mean around 16 deputies and a drop of 18.6 points compared to the previous elections.
The third place would be shared by the historic Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), The Left, and The Greens, each with 9% support and between 8 and 9 seats. In sixth place would be the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW, 5%), ahead of the Free Democratic Party (FDP, 2%). The minimum threshold to enter the regional chamber is set at 5%.
Voter turnout has become another of the highlighted data of the day, with 65.3% by 4:00 PM, much higher than the 41% recorded at the same hour in 2021, when the final turnout at the polls was 60.3%.
The latest projection released by the public television ARD places AfD in the lead with 42% of the voting intention, followed by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU, 22%), The Left (11%), the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD, 8%), The Greens (6%), Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW, 4%), and the Free Democratic Party (FDP, 3%).