Far-right AfD wins Saxony-Anhalt and moves to the brink of power, exit polls show

The far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, won Sunday's election in eastern Saxony-Anhalt with about 44% of the vote, according to exit polls. The result puts the party within reach of an outright majority and potentially its first regional government in Germany.

Polls conducted by Infratest dimap and Forschungsgruppe Wahlen for public broadcasters ARD and ZDF respectively placed AfD between 44% and 44.5%. It defeated the Christian Democratic Union of regional Premier Sven Schulze, which received about 18.5% in both surveys.

The Left emerged as the third-largest force with between 9% and 9.5%. The Greens took 8.5%, while the Social Democratic Party was placed between 8% and 9%. The Free Democrats, part of Schulze's coalition government with the SPD, failed to pass the 5% threshold. The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance came close, with between 4.8% and 5%.

That narrow result could decide the composition of the regional parliament. If BSW falls below 5%, AfD could govern with an outright majority, potentially holding as many as 43 seats in the 83-member chamber, according to Infratest dimap.

Turnout reached a record 76.5%. The previous high for a Saxony-Anhalt regional election was 71.5%, recorded in 1998, eight years after German reunification.