AfD's Rausch elected speaker of Saxony-Anhalt parliament

Tobias Rausch of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) was elected speaker of Saxony-Anhalt’s state parliament on Tuesday, becoming the first AfD politician to hold the post in a regional legislature since the Second World War. He received 48 of 82 votes cast in the first round, a result that exceeded the party’s 39 seats and the five votes publicly pledged by the BSW, but the secret ballot did not identify who supplied the additional support. The vote took place as the newly elected parliament convened in Magdeburg. The AfD won nearly 44% of the vote and 39 seats in the September 6 state election, falling short of an outright majority. Five members of the BSW had said they would support Rausch; the ballot result therefore left the source of further votes unclear. CDU caucus leader Thorsten Frei called suggestions that his party backed Rausch pure speculation, saying that the secret ballot left every voter in question. Rausch’s election gives the AfD the parliament’s top procedural post, but does not establish that the party can form a state government. The speaker presides over parliamentary sittings and represents the state at official events.