Top things to know
- Saxony-Anhalt voters head to the polls on Sunday in a closely watched eastern German state election.
- Recent surveys show the far-right AfD leading at roughly 40 percent, ahead of the CDU's 23 percent.
- AfD candidate Ulrich Siegmund suggests an absolute majority is possible if smaller parties miss the 5 percent threshold.
Voters in Saxony-Anhalt head to the polls on Sunday in eastern Germany's most closely watched state election, where the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) holds about 40 percent support in recent surveys, placing it ahead of the CDU's 23 percent. The party could secure an absolute majority if smaller factions fail to clear the 5 percent parliamentary threshold.
If the AfD falls short of a majority, an administration led by incumbent premier Sven Schulze and the CDU remains likely. Ulrich Siegmund, a former CDU member running for the AfD, which Der Spiegel once labeled Germany's most dangerous man, told Bild that rival parties erected firewalls. Coalition talks could extend for weeks depending on the 5 percent hurdle.