Saxony-Anhalt election: BSW says it will back AfD candidate for state parliament speaker

Sahra Wagenknecht’s BSW has signaled that it will support an AfD politician for president of Saxony-Anhalt’s state parliament. If the party follows through, the AfD could secure the majority needed for the top parliamentary post.

It would be the first time nationwide that the right-wing party held the presidency of a state parliament. Saxony-Anhalt’s domestic intelligence agency classifies the AfD state branch as definitively far-right.

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Whether we vote for someone naturally depends on the specific candidate

“Whether we vote for someone naturally depends on the specific candidate,” Wagenknecht told Stern. “But for us it is undisputed that, as by far the strongest parliamentary group, the AfD is entitled to the office of parliament president.”

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But for us it is undisputed that, as by far the strongest parliamentary group, the AfD is entitled to the office of parliament president.

John Lucas Dittrich, the newly elected parliamentary secretary of the BSW state parliamentary group, went further in Magdeburg: “The AfD will receive our votes for the state parliament president.” The newly elected parliament must convene by Oct. 6 to choose a president. As the largest group, the AfD has the sole right to nominate a candidate in the first round.

The AfD has 39 seats, while the BSW holds five, giving the two parties 44 of the parliament’s 83 seats and an absolute majority. BSW opposes the so-called firewall against the AfD and wants to cooperate with it on individual issues. Wagenknecht has nevertheless ruled out coalitions with the party. In Thuringia, the AfD unsuccessfully sought the state parliament presidency in 2024 after emerging as the largest parliamentary group.

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The AfD will receive our votes for the state parliament president.