Far-right AfD scores historic win in German state vote
SAXONY-ANHALT
People react to exit polls during the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) election party following Saxony-Anhalt state election, in Magdeburg, Germany, Sept. 6 2026. . EPA/FILIP SINGER
Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won the Sept. 6 election in Saxony-Anhalt by a wide margin but fell short of an outright majority, leaving its bid to form its first state government unresolved.
The AfD took 43.8 percent of the vote, more than doubling its share from 2021. Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) fell to 17.2 percent from 37.1 percent, according to provisional results.
