Germany's Far-Right AfD Poised for Historic State Election Victory in Saxony-Anhalt

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is predicted to win 40-41% of the vote in the Saxony-Anhalt state election on Sunday, September 6, 2026.

This outcome could make the AfD the first far-right party to lead a state government since World War II. Approximately 1.7 million voters are eligible to cast ballots, with polls opening at 8 am local time and closing at 6 pm. The AfD's top candidate, Ulrich Siegmund, 35, has confidently predicted gaining an absolute majority.

Siegmund, a former fragrance salesman with a large TikTok following, arrived to vote on a moped with his wife, Julia. The current government in Saxony-Anhalt is a coalition led by the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, with state prime minister Sven Schulze hoping to build another multi-party coalition to retain power.

All other major parties have maintained a firewall of non-cooperation with the AfD. Germany's domestic intelligence agency categorizes the Saxony-Anhalt AfD branch as right-wing extremist. Voters in the economically depressed state are reportedly drawn to the AfD's anti-immigrant and anti-European Union rhetoric, its promise to expel non-citizens, and its focus on German national pride. The AfD has performed well in other former East German states and increasingly in western ones, earning 19% of the popular vote in Baden-Wuerttemburg elections last March.