Saxony-Anhalt: Preliminary official results show AfD tops vote

Saxony-Anhalt: Preliminary results show AfD tops vote Published September 6, 2026last updated September 7, 2026What you need to know - Far-right AfD hails 'sensational' results in the Saxony-Anhalt vote - AfD expected to struggle with coalition building as many parties reject cooperation - Left-wing populist BSW open to working with AfD on some issues - Merz's CDU suffers worst Saxony-Anhalt result since German reunification Germany's Saxony-Anhalt state held an election on Sunday, September 6. Follow all the developments on Monday, September 7, here. AfD wins most votes in Saxony-Anhalt, preliminary official results show The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won 43.8% of the vote in Germany's Saxony-Anhalt state election, according to preliminary official results, making it the largest party, but falling short of a governing majority in the regional parliament. Six parties will be represented in the state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt: - Alternative for Germany (AfD) — 43.8%, 39 seats - Christian Democratic Union (CDU) — 17.2%, 15 seats - Social Democratic Party (SPD) — 9.3%, 8 seats - The Green Party — 8.9%, 8 seats - Left Party — 8.6%, 8 seats - Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) — 5.3%, 5 seats WATCH: “Migration alone no longer explains the party’s rise” Historian Katja Hoyer says the AfD's breakthrough was fueled by a more upbeat campaign around Ulrich Siegmund, while mainstream parties struggled to offer a positive vision of change. CDU fails to win a single direct mandate in Saxony-Anhalt state election As a major setback for Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s center-right CDU, the party came away empty-handed in the individual constituencies. The CDU failed to win a single direct mandate in the Saxony-Anhalt state election. According to preliminary figures from the state election authority, CDU candidates were defeated in all 41 constituencies. Alternative for Germany (AfD) candidates prevailed in 38 constituencies, including lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund in Genthin. Candidates from the Left Party won the remaining three constituencies: one in Magdeburg and two in Halle. In the 2021 state election, the CDU won direct mandates in 40 of the 41 constituencies, while the AfD won one. In Germany, voters have two votes. The "first vote" determines the winner of a constituency and the direct mandate. The "second vote" determines the distribution of seats among parties in the state parliament. WATCH: DW's Max Hofmann analyzes what AfD's win in Saxony-Anhalt means for Germany The immediate political fallout from the Saxony-Anhalt election results could put pressure on the governing coalition in Berlin over the AfD's growing popularity. Germany’s next federal election is scheduled for 2029, and political parties are likely to closely watch how the AfD’s rise shapes the country’s political landscape, says DW Berlin bureau chief Max Hoffmann. Is Saxony-Anhalt's economy really struggling? Saxony-Anhalt's economy has grown more slowly than Germany’s overall economy in recent years, with lower wages, higher unemployment and economic output per capita at only about three-quarters of the national average. These challenges have helped fuel support for the far-right AfD, which argues the eastern state has been left behind socially and economically. Key sectors of the state economy include chemicals, engineering, manufacturing and tourism. But has the eastern state been left behind as some suggest. Click here for a closer look at the data that offers some interesting insights. Czech parliament speaker congratulates AfD on Saxony-Anhalt result Tomio Okamura, the far-right president of the Czech parliament's lower chamber, congratulated the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on its success in the Saxony-Anhalt state election. According to Okamura, this is the result of the "bad politics" by the "liberal, EU-friendly" parties in Germany. Okamura's far-right SPD party is part of the Czech governing coalition. READ: What an AfD government could mean for Saxony-Anhalt An AfD-led government could bring major changes to migration, education and social policy in Saxony-Anhalt. The party wants more deportations, mandatory work for asylum-seekers and cuts to integration programs. It also plans to change school curricula, ban rainbow flags in schools and reduce funding for pro-democracy projects. Some proposals could face legal limits or fall outside state powers. The AfD also wants closer ties with Russia, although foreign policy is mainly decided at the federal level. For a closer look at what an AfD-led government could mean for Saxony-Anhalt, read our full analysis here. WATCH: CDU's Schulze concedes defeat as AfD tops vote "We're going to have to live with this result," the CDU's lead candidate Sven Schulze said after congratulating the AfD on becoming the Saxony-Anhalt's strongest party. AfD success 'serious moment', French minister says The election results of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in the Saxony-Anhalt state election is a "serious" moment, France's Europe Minister Benjamin Haddad said. "This is a serious moment in Europe, seeing the far right win in a regional election in Germany," Haddad posted on his X account. "We must listen with humility to the anger, the concerns, the fears, and respond to them," he added. WATCH: AfD's Siegmund vows to 'take our country back' "We have made history," said Ulrich Siegmund, the lead candidate for the far-right AfD, after the party won around 44% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt. Projected results put BSW in Saxony-Anhalt state parliament The latest projected results show the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) will get seats in the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament. The left-wing populist party will have five seats and has said it would work with the Alternative for Germany (AfD), which picked up 39 seats according to the projected results. The AfD had earlier seemingly ruled out working with the BSW. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which headed previous coalition-led state governments, only managed to get 15 seats, while the socialist Left Party ,the center-left Social Democrats and Greens look set to get 8 seats each. 'Only idiots and traitors' celebrate AfD's success in Poland: PM Tusk Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk reacted to the election results in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt by criticizing those in his country that celebrate the far-right AfD party's success. "In Poland, only idiots or traitors can celebrate the AfD's success," Tusk wrote in Polish on his X account. According to Tusk, some of those he means are from Poland's opposition parties, including the right-wing populist PiS party. WATCH: AfD celebrates, CDU reels from election setback The far-right AfD party has achieved a huge victory in the election in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. But it appears it has not got enough votes to take control of the government there. AfD's Siegmund says victory in Saxony-Anhalt will 'shake all of Germany' The AfD has "written history" with the Saxony-Anhalt result, the party's lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund told supporters on Sunday evening. "Our vision for 2026 has come true," Siegmund said in his victory speech in Magdeburg. "We are going to get our country back, and we are starting with Saxony-Anhalt." He said the result would "shake all of Germany" and send a "self-confident signal" across the country. "The people in this country are giving us their trust. We will not disappoint them," Siegmund said. "We will not become like these other parties. We are the Alternative for Germany." Siegmund also attacked media coverage of his party, saying the AfD had shown that "no matter how much fake news there was about us, we cannot be divided." "In other parties you hide the chancellor. In the AfD, we stand together," he added, The remark appeared to target the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which kept Chancellor Friedrich Merz largely out of its campaign in Saxony-Anhalt. FACT CHECK: Russian disinformation campaign fabricates election fraud media reports Claim: The CDU is engaging in fraud in the Saxony-Anhalt election. "The social media pages of deceased residents of Saxony-Anhalt have become a platform for the "CDU's election campaign," reads one post on X, sharing a spoofed DW video. "According to T-Online, non-existent citizens are set to vote by post for the #CDU in the Saxony-Anhalt election," reads another. Verdict: False DW Fact check reviewed five videos following a near-identical template: each was about a minute long and was posted by an account with zero followers and nearly no other posts. Each of the videos feature a reputable news outlet's logo in the corner — including DW, German public broadcaster ARD, Wired magazine, and the BBC — and make claims about the CDU committing election fraud. The claims range from the CDU using a database of Nazi soldier names to register fake ballots, to residents receiving campaign messages from deceased relatives. Each video ends with a message urging viewers to "share this video with your family and friends in any way you see fit." Julia Smirnova, disinformation expert and senior researcher at the Center for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy, told DW the posts were part of the Matryoshka Russian disinformation campaign, also known as Operation Overload. "As with other Matryoshka videos, the reach is mostly inauthentic," she wrote in an email to DW. One of the videos claims T-Online reporter Lars Wienand had "obtained evidence that the CDU will attempt to rig the election." Wienand confirmed he had reported no such thing, writing to DW that "it's not the first time that suspected Russian disinformation had misused my name and image." DW Fact Check has debunked other Russian disinformation targeting German elections: Fact check: Russian disinformation targets German elections