The ultra-left Alternative for Germany party won the elections in the state of Thuringia and came second in Saxony, behind the Christian Democrats (CDU), according to exit polls published after the closing of the electoral schools.
The AfD won 30.5% of the vote in Thuringia, followed by the CDU with 24.5%. The anti-immigration left of Sahra Wagenknecht also came in strong – 16% of the vote.
In Saxony, the CDU won 32% of the vote, followed by the AfD with 31.5% and Sahra Wagenknecht with 11.5%.
The two states together have a population of around 6.2 million, a small fraction of Germany’s 82 million people, but the elections have taken on great significance at the federal level due to the rise of the far-right and the poor standing of the governing political parties, led by Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Saxony’s Prime Minister, Christian Democrat Michael Kretschmer, said after the vote that it was the most important election for his state in 34 years.
Kretschmer is governing at the head of a coalition chaired by his party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Greens as minority partners.
