AfD wins 43.8% in Saxony-Anhalt election but remains short of a governing majority

Result and parliamentary arithmetic

The AfD won 43.8% in Saxony-Anhalt’s September 6, 2026 state election, according to preliminary official results. The party received 39 of 83 seats, its highest vote share in a German state election, while falling three seats short of an absolute majority.

The CDU received 17.2% and 15 seats, its lowest result in the state. The SPD won 9.3% and eight seats; the Greens won 8.9% and eight; The Left won 8.6% and eight; and BSW won 5.3% and five. The FDP received 2.6% and did not clear the 5% threshold.

The AfD’s vote share rose 23.0 percentage points from 20.8% in 2021. The CDU’s share fell 19.9 points from 37.1%, according to the 2021 election record. Turnout reached 77.8%, compared with 60.3% in 2021, and was the highest recorded in a Saxony-Anhalt state election.

The results remain preliminary pending formal certification. They differ from initial ARD exit-poll estimates of about 44.5% for the AfD and 18.5% for the CDU.

Government formation remains unresolved

AfD lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund is seeking the minister-presidency. Incumbent Minister-President Sven Schulze, who took office on January 28, 2026, led the CDU campaign.

An AfD-BSW combination would control 44 seats. The CDU, SPD, Greens and The Left together hold 39 seats, leaving a prospective non-AfD government dependent on BSW support, abstentions, individual defections, or a minority arrangement.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the federal CDU leader, reaffirmed on September 7 that the CDU would not cooperate with the AfD, according to Reuters. AfD national co-leader Tino Chrupalla appealed to individual CDU legislators. BSW representatives have discussed project-based cooperation and AfD participation while rejecting both Siegmund and Schulze as minister-president.

Saxony-Anhalt’s constitution requires a secret-ballot election of the minister-president. The first ballot requires a majority of all legislators, while later procedures can ultimately allow election by a majority of votes cast. The new Landtag must first meet by October 6, 2026; no fixed deadline requires a minister-president election, and Schulze’s administration can continue in a caretaker capacity.

State powers and political constraints

With more than one-third of Landtag seats, the AfD can block measures requiring a two-thirds majority, including constitutional changes. If it enters government, it could influence state policing, education, cultural policy, public administration, and Saxony-Anhalt’s role in the Bundesrat.

The state AfD organization has been classified as a confirmed right-wing extremist endeavor by Saxony-Anhalt’s domestic intelligence service since November 7, 2023. The party disputes the designation as politically motivated and has pursued legal action; the classification remains official while litigation is unresolved.

The election cannot directly determine German foreign or defense policy, which fall under federal authority, as outlined by the Bundestag’s division of competencies. Any effect on Germany’s Ukraine policy, NATO policy, or EU strategy would depend on subsequent federal decisions or changes in Bundesrat coalition politics.

The AfD previously won the most votes in Thuringia’s 2024 state election without entering government. An AfD-led state government would therefore be the unresolved and consequential next question from the Saxony-Anhalt result.