German far-right set for big win in eastern state - exit polls

What the report says

Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is projected to achieve a major result in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, according to exit polls reported by BBC World News. The party is estimated to have won about 44% to 44.5% of the vote, well ahead of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which is on 18.5% in the projections.

BBC said the AfD described the outcome as a historic success and argued it had won a mandate to govern. State party leader Ulrich Siegmund was reported to have declined to rule out governing with other parties, although it was still unclear whether the AfD would have enough seats to take power. The final position will depend on the distribution of seats among smaller parties and whether any of them fail to pass the 5% threshold for entry into the state parliament.

The result matters because no far-right party has controlled a German state since World War Two. If the AfD were able to lead the government in Saxony-Anhalt, it would gain influence over areas including policing, education and culture. The state has about 2.1 million residents, and Germany’s domestic intelligence service classifies the AfD’s Saxony-Anhalt branch as extremist, a label the party rejects.