More than two weeks after the state election in Saxony-Anhalt, the state election committee has confirmed the final official result, validating the preliminary figures. The AfD won the election on 6 September with 43.8 percent of the vote, securing a clear lead, the election committee announced in Magdeburg on Tuesday. The CDU received 17.2 percent.
The SPD won 9.3 percent, while the Greens received 8.9 percent and the Left Party 8.6 percent. The BSW, which entered the Magdeburg state parliament for the first time, received 5.3 percent. The FDP failed to return to parliament.
The AfD will have 39 seats in the state parliament. Following its sharp decline, the CDU will hold only 15 seats, while the SPD, Left Party and Greens will each have eight seats. The BSW will be represented by five lawmakers. The newly elected Saxony-Anhalt state parliament will hold its first session on 6 October. Left Party parliamentary group leader Eva von Angern will open and chair the constituent session as the parliament's senior president until a new state parliament president is elected.
As the strongest parliamentary group, the AfD initially has the right to nominate a candidate for the position. The BSW has already announced that it will support the AfD's candidate.
Despite its landslide election victory, the AfD fell short of an absolute majority with its 39 seats, making the formation of a government difficult. The CDU, SPD, Greens and Left Party, which together also hold 39 seats, have ruled out any cooperation with the AfD, which the state Office for the Protection of the Constitution has classified as a confirmed right-wing extremist organisation. All parties except the BSW also rejected the AfD's offer to hold exploratory talks.
AfD lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund is currently holding talks with the BSW in an effort to secure a “stable majority.” Whether this could ultimately result in an AfD minority government remains open. The AfD had originally entered the election with the goal of governing with an outright majority.
Watch our video to see how the Saxony-Anhalt election results translate into seats and what the numbers could mean for government formation.
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