AfD wins Saxony-Anhalt with 44%, broadcasters project

The far-right Alternative for Germany was projected to win 44% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt, putting Chancellor Friedrich Merz under pressure after a major defeat for his CDU in the eastern German state.

German public broadcasters projected the CDU at about 18% in Sunday's regional election. They also projected that the AfD fell three seats short of an absolute majority in the state parliament in Magdeburg.

Merz was due to meet his CDU party on Monday after the result. CDU state premier Sven Schulze said his campaign had faced headwinds from national government policies.

AfD lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund said his party had made history and that voters had sent a signal to Berlin. AfD national co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla urged the state branch to seek to take over the state government.

The result leaves Saxony-Anhalt facing negotiations over who can form a government. Parties opposed to the AfD, including the CDU, SPD, Greens and Die Linke, also lack a clear majority. The BSW could become a kingmaker if it crosses the five-percent threshold to enter parliament.

Germany's domestic intelligence agency classifies the AfD as right-wing extremist, a label the party is challenging in court. Before the vote, politicians and security experts had warned that an AfD-led state government could affect domestic intelligence oversight, police priorities and access to sensitive information in a state that hosts German military sites.

Defence Minister Boris Pistorius had called for any AfD ministers in a state government to be barred from classified information. Greens lawmaker Konstantin von Notz, vice-chairman of the German parliament's intelligence oversight committee, said an AfD government could have drastic consequences for security policy.