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🇩🇪 Germany /Elections & Politics

After AfD election success, Turkish community calls for end to residence restrictions in Saxony-Anhalt

From Die Zeit · () German

Translated from German and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire From a news agency Context piece
  • The Turkish Community in Germany urged the federal government to lift residence restrictions for asylum seekers after the AfD won 43.8% in Saxony-Anhalt’s state election.
  • The group said migrants and refugees faced heightened risks from far-right extremists and called for active protection.
  • The AfD won 39 of the 42 seats needed for a majority, leaving it unable to govern alone.

The Turkish Community in Germany says sending asylum seekers to Saxony-Anhalt has become unreasonable after the AfD emerged as the dominant force in the state election.

People with a migration background in Saxony-Anhalt no longer have time for theoretical security debates

· Gökay SofuogluThe Turkish Community in Germany chairman described the group’s concerns after the AfD election result.

“People with a migration background in Saxony-Anhalt no longer have time for theoretical security debates,” said Gökay Sofuoglu, the organization’s federal chairman, in comments to the German Press Agency. He called on politicians to “actively protect them from far-right extremists.”

Refugees, he said, were especially vulnerable. “We call on the federal government to lift the residence requirement for refugees,” Sofuoglu said. No one, he added, should be required to remain somewhere where they could become a target for far-right extremists. “We must not wait until people have been killed before we act,” he warned.

actively protect them from far-right extremists

· Gökay SofuogluHe called for stronger political protection for people with migrant backgrounds.

The residence requirement applies to foreigners seeking asylum. More precisely, their permission to stay is restricted to the district responsible for their reception facility.

We call on the federal government to lift the residence requirement for refugees

· Gökay SofuogluThe organization’s demand concerns restrictions on where asylum seekers may stay.

The AfD won 43.8% of the vote in Sunday’s election, well ahead of the CDU, which fell to 17.2%. The SPD won 9.3%, the Greens 8.9% and the Left 8.6%. The BSW entered parliament with 5.3%. The AfD holds 39 seats, while 42 are needed for a majority, so it cannot govern alone.

We must not wait until people have been killed before we act

· Gökay SofuogluHe warned against delaying action on extremist threats.
About this summary

Originally published by Die Zeit in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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