Polls have opened in Saxony-Anhalt, with surveys putting the AfD on 40 per cent and the CDU on 23 per cent. Finishing first may still leave the AfD short of government. Its lead candidate, Ulrich Siegmund, says he would seek the governorship only with an outright majority. Which smaller parties cross the 5 per cent threshold could reshape the seat count, while the mainstream firewall may leave the CDU another coalition route.
Saxony-Anhalt went to the polls on Sunday. Surveys put the AfD on 40 per cent and state premier Sven Schulze's CDU on 23 per cent. An AfD victory could put a far-right party at the head of a German state government for the first time since the Second World War. First place alone does not secure the governorship; the AfD's route to power runs through an outright majority.[1], [2]
AfD lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund says he will seek the governorship only if his party wins an outright majority. That requires 42 seats in the 83-seat Magdeburg parliament; the final poll put the party on 41 per cent and below that line. Because the entry threshold is 5 per cent, which smaller parties clear it could alter how votes translate into seats.[1], [2]
Without an outright majority, the AfD is unlikely to find a partner because the mainstream parties maintain their firewall against cooperation. State premier Sven Schulze's CDU may therefore try to form a government with smaller parties even if the AfD finishes first. While voting remains under way, who will form the government is uncertain and depends on the resulting parliamentary majority as well as the AfD's place in the vote.[2]
