Key facts
- The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) secured 43.8% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt.
- The AfD fell three seats short of an outright majority in the state's 83-seat parliament.
- AfD's deputy parliamentary leader Beatrix von Storch called for other parties to enter talks.
- AfD leader in Saxony-Anhalt, Ulrich Siegmund, stated the party has a 'clear mandate to govern'.
- The AfD is reportedly engaging in discussions with individuals within the conservative CDU group.
Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is pushing for coalition talks after achieving a significant electoral victory in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt. Preliminary results show the AfD secured 43.8% of the vote, falling just three seats short of an outright majority in the 83-seat state parliament.
Beatrix von Storch, the AfD's deputy parliamentary leader, told the BBC that "democracy demands" other parties work with them, stating, "You cannot say I do not accept the vote of the people." She warned that a refusal to engage in talks could lead to "severe chaos and maybe we have a new election."
Ulrich Siegmund, the AfD's leader in Saxony-Anhalt, echoed this sentiment at a news conference, asserting that the party had won a "clear mandate to govern." He indicated that discussions with other parties began Sunday night and could take days or weeks, with the AfD reaching out to "everybody first" and looking for "individual parliamentary groups or MPs who would be willing to help us."
The AfD is currently projected to win 39 seats, while the conservative CDU party, the largest in the outgoing coalition, garnered 17.2% of the vote. Von Storch mentioned that the AfD is speaking with individuals within the CDU, describing them as "very, very unhappy with their own party."