AfD set for historic victory in Saxony-Anhalt state election, exit polls show
Exit polls showed the AfD polling at 44% while the ruling CDU is at 18.5%, marking the party's most significant victory to date
Far-right Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) is set for an overwhelming victory at the Saxony-Anhalt state elections in Germany, according to exit polling.
Exit polls showed the AfD polling at 44% while the ruling CDU is at 18.5%, with all other parties polling below 10%.
At 44%, the AfD would experience a swing of over 20% in its favour. Voter turnout increased from the last election in 2021, with Deutsche Welle predicting a nearly 50% increase in voter turnout.
These elections are for Saxony-Anhalt's state parliament. If the AfD succeeds, it will mark the first time it has won control of a German state. It will also raise serious questions for the other parties which have maintained a "firewall policy" against the AfD, boycotting any cooperation with it in government.
In the previous election the CDU received 37% of the vote and 40 seats, two short of a majority. If polling is accurate, the AfD will be capable of forming a majority government without needing the support of other parties, marking its most significant victory to date.
The AfD was investigated by the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the equivalent of Israel's Shin Bet, and designated an "extreme right-wing organization."
The designation lead some German politicians to call for the party to be banned as a threat to German democracy, which would require a vote in the national parliament. Only two parties have been banned by the German government since World War II, both in the 1950s.
The AfD claimed the designation was the result of government persecution and an attempt to silence criticism of government migration policies.