Exit poll puts far-right AfD ahead in eastern German state election

The far-right Alternative for Germany emerged as the projected winner in Saxony-Anhalt’s state election, according to an exit poll released after voting ended. The ARD poll put the AfD at 44.5%, well ahead of the conservatives led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who received 18.5%.

The center-left Social Democratic Party and the Greens both crossed the minimum threshold for entering the Saxony-Anhalt parliament. The result gives the AfD a strong position, but the central question remains unresolved: whether it can govern the state on its own.

AfD co-leader Alice Weidel described the projected result as a “historic” achievement that gave the party a clear mandate to govern. The article did not establish whether the exit-poll figures would translate into a governing majority.

If the AfD falls short of ruling alone, mainstream parties may enter prolonged negotiations to form a government. They remain determined to exclude the AfD from power, despite the party’s leading position and its classification as right-wing extremist by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency.

The left-wing populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, known as BSW, also had a chance of crossing the threshold and entering the state parliament.

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A historic result that gives the AfD a clear mandate to govern.