Thousands expected at rallies ahead of Saxony-Anhalt state election

Thousands of people are expected to gather in Saxony-Anhalt over the election weekend, with rallies planned in Magdeburg and Halle. Police said a dozen events had been registered in the state capital, alongside several pro-democracy demonstrations in Halle.

The largest gathering is scheduled for Magdeburg’s Domplatz, where an alliance of trade unions and civil society groups expects about 8,000 participants. The AfD, which leads the CDU by a wide margin in opinion polls and hopes to govern alone, is also holding its official campaign finale.

The state election on Sunday could make the AfD, founded only 13 years ago, the strongest party by a clear margin. The central question is whether its victory will be large enough to make it the first far-right party to take power in a German state since the Second World War.

The party’s lead candidate, Ulrich Siegmund, has topped polls in recent months. The Forschungsgruppe Wahlen poll commissioned by ZDF put the AfD at 41%, compared with 23% for the CDU, which has provided the state premier in Magdeburg for 24 years and is running incumbent Sven Schulze. The Linke stood at 11.5%, the SPD at 8.5% and the Greens at 6%. The BSW appeared just below the 5% threshold, while the FDP was projected to leave parliament. About a quarter of respondents remained undecided.

An AfD absolute majority would allow it to govern alone, though recent polling points away from that outcome. Siegmund has said he would seek to become premier only with a “stable majority” of his own. If the AfD wins without a majority, it may need partners that are unlikely to be available. A repeat of the current CDU, SPD and FDP coalition is also not expected to have enough seats, while Schulze’s preferred alliance of centrist parties, including the CDU, SPD and Greens, faces poor prospects. With no clear majority either for the AfD or for an anti-AfD coalition without the Linke, the shape of the next government remains open.

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stable majority