Change of power in the East?All data on state elections in Saxony-Anhalt
July 22, 2026, 6:47 pm
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Baroque facade of the cathedral square in Magdeburg: view of the complex of buildings with the plenary hall of the state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt. (Photo: photo alliance/imageBROKER)SplitFollow along:
Determining the political course in early autumn: At the beginning of September, Saxony-Anhalt will elect a new state parliament. According to polls, the AfD is still clearly in the lead. Will a party classified by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as right-wing extremist become prime minister in the future?
Saxony-Anhalt faces elections: on the first Sunday in September, some 1.7 million eligible voters are called upon to redefine the balance of power and majority in the East German state parliament. The upcoming vote has already caused a stir throughout the country: will there be a change of power in Magdeburg this fall?
Opinion polls suggest a possible vote gain well to the right of center. Alternative for Germany (AfD) is gaining up to 41 percent in representative polls. This means that the AfD, with its main candidate Ulrich Siegmund, could become the new strongest force in the state. On the other hand, according to sociologists, the CDU must be prepared for significant losses. Who will win the elections in Saxony-Anhalt?
Note. State election infographics are based on the latest polling results and are continually updated leading up to Election Day.
The election date has already been set, but the election results and the future majority are still largely open. How many parties will overcome the five percent barrier on September 6? Currently, a total of six parties are represented in the Magdeburg state parliament: CDU, AfD, Left, SPD, FDP and Greens. The current Prime Minister, CDU politician Sven Schulze, heads the government with the support of the black-red-yellow coalition.
However, Schulze has not been in power for long: the main candidate of the CDU took this post only at the end of January. Experienced state father Rainer Haseloff, a familiar face to many voters, will no longer run in state elections in 2026.
The projected loss of votes will be a bitter setback for the Christian Democrats: the CDU has been the head of government in Saxony-Anhalt for more than 20 years. Haseloff himself has been in power since 2011. In the recent state elections in 2021, the party with it and the official bonus achieved a result of 37.1 percent.
One thing is certain: after the Haseloff era, a lot will change in Saxony-Anhalt. Further trends can be seen in surveys. Therefore, the left, for example, can hope for small successes. The SPD may lose support only slightly. The FDP and the Greens have to fear their return to state parliament.
On the other hand, the Sarah Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) may find itself just above the decisive threshold on election night. The effect will be enormous: every vote is important for competing parties. Depending on the poll, demoscopists see only five or even four factions in the future state parliament instead of the previous six.
This means that Saxony-Anhalt is on track for a difficult majority situation: if the Liberals do miss the opportunity to return to the state parliament, leading CDU candidate Schulze will have to look for at least one new alliance partner – if his party is to have a stable majority at all.
Together with the AfD, the party, whose own regional grouping is classified as “right-wing extremist” by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, could become a powerful new force. If the BSW fails again to meet the five percent clause, the plenary session in Magdeburg will soon be able to consist of only four parliamentary groups. It is still unclear how an effective government alliance can be created under such circumstances.
Regardless of which party will be able to claim a government mandate after election day: there won’t be much choice in a four-party parliament. And even with five parties in the state parliament, Saxony-Anhalt may be far from a stable majority on election night.
A possible three-party coalition of the CDU with the participation of BMW would be more than controversial in federal politics. CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann categorically ruled out such cooperation. Even cooperation with the left, which is again arguably the third strongest force in Saxony-Anhalt, will be difficult to say the least for those involved. In addition to the CDU, AfD and the Left, separate polls also show that the SPD and BSW are present in the state parliament. Purely mathematically, under these conditions, a four-party alliance would be possible, consisting of the CDU, SPD, left and BSV. However, politically such an approach seems difficult to implement – the differences are likely to be too great.
On the other side of the firewall, the prospects do not look any more solid: according to polls, an absolute majority for the AfD is still unattainable. Thus, the right will have to join forces with at least one more party. Possible allies are rare.
With the exception of BSW, no other party is willing to work with the AfD. And it is far from certain that Sarah Wagenknecht’s party will be able to convince a sufficient number of voters in Saxony-Anhalt. If the BSW fails again – as it did most recently in March in Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate – in its attempt to enter the state parliament, AfD leader Sigmund will likely also find himself without a stable majority.
It all depends on how voters in Saxony-Anhalt decide and how many eligible voters actually exercise their right to vote. Voter turnout in previous elections in eight states was in some cases significantly lower than participation rates in federal elections. The desire for a voice in state-level politics reached its lowest point in the 2006 election.
At that time, only 44.4 percent of eligible voters in Saxony-Anhalt wanted to take part in deciding the election. The country’s highest voter turnout occurred in the late 1990s. In the 1998 state election, 71.5 percent of eligible voters voted. The share of those who have not previously voted represents the greatest hidden potential for parties competing for influence and decisions.
The voting process follows a familiar pattern: “all Germans within the meaning of the Basic Law” are entitled to vote if they are 18 years of age or older, as stated in the state election information, who have “lived in Saxony-Anhalt for at least three months” and are not excluded from voting by court order.
Each voter has two votes: the first vote is given to the respective candidate in the district by simply marking the ballot, and the second vote is given to the party of preference at the state level. The Magdeburg state parliament has at least 83 seats.
Direct election question: Schulze ahead of AfD candidate Sigmund
“Based on the results of the first votes, 41 candidates will be elected directly to the state parliament,” this is how the state center for political education summarizes the electoral process. “The person who receives the most votes in his constituency enters the State Parliament as a directly elected representative.” The overall distribution of seats between individual parties is determined by a second vote.
Review: These are the results of the 2021 elections
Polling stations will be open on Sunday, September 6, from 8:00 to 18:00. To vote, eligible voters only need a notice of vote and proof of identification in the form of an “official photo document,” i.e. an ID card, passport or driver’s license.
If you want to save on a trip to the polling station, you can apply to vote by mail in advance. This is possible for state elections in Saxony-Anhalt until 4 September 2026, 15:00. Eligible voters can apply to vote by mail locally in their municipality or use this opportunity to vote there by mail ballot. The deadline for returning mail-in ballots is earlier due to shipping and processing time. It expires on September 3, three days before the elections.