AfD wins Saxony-Anhalt with 43.8% and falls three seats short of an absolute majority

What the comparison reveals

What everyone says

The AfD wins the regional election in Saxony-Anhalt with a provisional final result of 43.8% of the vote and 39 seats out of 83, just three seats shy of the absolute majority threshold of 42.
The CDU collapses, losing around half of its votes compared to 2021, at around 17.2%.
The Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW), considered politically dead before the election, clears the 5% threshold and enters the Landtag, making it arithmetically impossible for a coalition of all other parties to form against the AfD.

Where it breaks apart

Reason for AfD vote — The narratives differ on the main explanation for the AfD's breakthrough: socio-economic sanction and distrust of the federal government on one hand, ideological and historical rupture on the other.
International reactions — Perspectives are divided between countries where political figures have publicly congratulated the AfD on its victory, and those that report warnings or criticism of this outcome.
Future of the cordon sanitaire — A divergence exists between an openness to dialogue with the AfD reported from within the new Landtag and the explicit defense of the cordon sanitaire principle at the federal level.

On Sunday, September 6, 2026, the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) won the regional election in Saxony-Anhalt with 43.8% of the vote according to the final provisional result, 23 points more than in 2021. It secured 39 of the 83 seats in the Landtag, just three seats shy of the absolute majority of 42. The CDU fell to 17.2%, losing about half of its 2021 vote share, while the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht entered the regional parliament with just over 5% of the vote. This development makes it arithmetically impossible for any coalition of all other parties to form against the AfD, whose leader Ulrich Siegmund says he wants to "restore Germany's national sovereignty". Matteo Salvini, Santiago Abascal, and Elon Musk congratulated the party on its result.

No government has been formed: neither the AfD alone nor an alternative coalition has the 42 seats required, due to the lack of an agreement from the BSW.

The BSW

Given as politically dead before the election, Sahra Wagenknecht's party barely cleared the 5 percent threshold.

Regional unemployment

The unemployment rate in Saxony-Anhalt is nearing 8 %, above the average national German rate.

The National Rally

Former European partner of the AfD, it did not react within the hour following the announcement of the result.

Key figures

43.8 %
AfD score in the final provisional result of the regional election
1 source · La Libre Belgique
39 seats
Seats won by the AfD out of 83, just three short of the absolute majority of 42
1 source · Handelsblatt
17.2 %
CDU score, compared to 37.1% in 2021
1 source · La Libre Belgique
5.3 %