The far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) obtained a wide lead in the first exit polls of the regional elections in Saxony-Anhalt, broadcast this Sunday by the public channels ARD and ZDF, with between 44% and 44.5% of the votes.
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If the projections are confirmed, AfD would become the main political force in the eastern German federal state, although it is still unclear whether it will manage to reach the absolute majority necessary to govern alone.
In a distant second place is the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), currently leading the regional government and headed by Prime Minister Sven Schulze, with around 18.5% of the votes.
The polls correspond to estimates from the institutes Infratest dimap and Forschungsgruppe Wahlen and do not yet constitute official results.
The final distribution of seats will depend especially on the result of the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), which according to the first estimates obtains between 4.8% and 5%.
The threshold to enter the regional parliament is precisely 5%. If BSW is left out of the chamber, AfD could reach an absolute majority with up to 43 deputies in a parliament of 83 seats, according to Infratest dimap projections.
That scenario could open the door to the first regional government led by AfD.
Behind the top two, The Left (Die Linke) appears as the third force, with between 9% and 9.5%.
The Greens would reach 8.5%, while the Social Democratic Party (SPD) would be between 8% and 9%.
The Free Democratic Party (FDP), which was part of the regional coalition along with the CDU and SPD, would not manage to surpass the 5% barrier and would be left out of parliament.
The elections were also marked by a high turnout. According to the first estimates, participation reached 76.5%, surpassing the regional record set in 1998, when 71.5% of the electorate voted.
About 1.7 million people were eligible to vote in Saxony-Anhalt.
According to Infratest dimap, among the main issues that marked the election were distrust towards traditional parties, social security, the economy, and migration.
The result will also be observed as a sign of the support AfD maintains in the east of the country and could have repercussions for the national political scenario and the federal government led by Friedrich Merz.
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