A crowd of supporters at the AfD election night party HQ erupted in cheers as the projections came up on the screen.
A short while later, people burst into singing Germany’s national anthem.
“We have made history in this state,” Siegmund said. His opposite number in the CDU, Sven Schulze, conceded victory and said his party would have to deal with the result: “This was an extremely tough and intensive election campaign.”
Germany’s centre-left SPD described the outcome as “truly dramatic” and national leader Lars Klingbeil, whose party is in government nationally with the CDU, described the outcome as a “signal to Berlin”.
AfD stands for Alternative für Deutschland. It has not only dominated the election campaign, it is emerging as the dominant force in the result as well. Although the outcome was initially unclear, the party’s supporters believe they are on the march.
Turnout in Saxony-Anhalt was particularly high at an estimated 78%, and AfD supporters in Magdeburg praised Siegmund’s success in winning over voters.
One man called Ollie said: “This man gives us what no-one else can give.”
“No matter what government, they all just promise things to get better. This is a party for the working people. It is the alternative for Germany,” he told the BBC.
Other parties refuse to go into coalition with the AfD, operating a Brandmauer or firewall aimed at keeping the far right out of government. In Saxony-Anhalt, the BSW has offered to co-operate with the AfD on some issues if it gets into the state parliament.
The AfD leads the opinion polls nationally, ahead of the ruling conservatives of Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the Social Democrats, but their heartland lies in the eastern states.
They also won the 2024 state election in neighbouring Thuringia, but failed to secure enough seats to win power.
