AfD Leads in Saxony-Anhalt Election Polls Ahead of Sept. 7 Vote

Voters in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt are set to decide in a critical election on September 7, 2026, whether the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) will achieve an unprecedented victory that could reshape the country's political landscape. Polls consistently show the AfD, which has been classified as a confirmed right-wing extremist organization by the state's domestic intelligence agency, leading with support around 40 percent, far ahead of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) at approximately 23 percent. This has raised the prospect of the AfD potentially securing an absolute majority and governing a German state alone for the first time since World War II. The election in Saxony-Anhalt, home to about 2.14 million people, is being closely watched for its national and European implications. A strong AfD performance would shatter a long-standing political taboo in Germany, where mainstream parties have maintained a "firewall" to prevent the party from entering government. The AfD's lead candidate, Ulrich Siegmund, would, if elected, participate in the Conference of Minister-Presidents, influencing decisions that affect the entire country.