Woidke Confident AfD Will Fall Short of Absolute Majority in Saxony-Anhalt Vote

Dietmar Woidke is confident that the AfD will not win an absolute majority in Saxony-Anhalt's state election on Sunday. The Brandenburg premier and SPD state chairman said voters would show that they wanted security and stability, not division.

"I am sure that the people of Saxony-Anhalt will show at the polling stations that they want security and stability and not division," Woidke told the German Press Agency while attending the SPD's final campaign event in Wernigerode.

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I am sure that the people of Saxony-Anhalt will show at the polling stations that they want security and stability and not division.

He also warned against the AfD taking responsibility for government. "The business associations have just stressed that what the AfD plans in its program harms the regional economy and harms the people," Woidke said. In his view, the party offered no foundation for good jobs and investment.

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The business associations have just stressed that what the AfD plans in its program harms the regional economy and harms the people.

The AfD is classified as definitely right-wing extremist in both Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg. It has said that, if it wins, it would restructure parts of the state, including the intelligence service. A recent Forschungsgruppe Wahlen poll for ZDF put the AfD at 41%, followed by the CDU at 23%, the Left at 11.5%, the SPD at 8.5% and the Greens at 6%.

Those figures would leave the AfD short of its goal of governing Magdeburg alone, but building a government without it would be difficult. Woidke cautioned against treating the poll as a result, saying he knew from experience in Brandenburg that "polls are not election results." His SPD won Brandenburg's 2024 election, although the Greens, Left and Free Voters lost their seats in the state parliament.

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Polls are not election results.