❗The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party secured a decisive victory in the the Saxony-Anhalt election, receiving 43.8% of the vote, the regional election commission said in releasing preliminary official results.

This is the AfD’s best result in a German state in its entire history. Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) came in second, losing about half of its votes compared to 2021. The party received only 17.2% of the vote, marking the CDU’s worst performance in Saxony-Anhalt to date.

The Social Democratic Party of Germany received 9.3% of the vote, Alliance 90/The Greens 8.9%, and the Left Party 8.6%. The BSW (formerly the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance - Reason and Justice party) also entered the state parliament with 5.3% of the vote.