Germany’s far-right AfD wins first state election — exit poll
Top candidate of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party for regional elections in Saxony Joerg Urban (R) speaks on stage during the party's election night in Dresden, eastern Germany, on September 1, 2024. (Lisi Niesner / POOL / AFP)
Germany’s far-right AfD has won its first regional election, taking between 30.5 and 33.5 percent of the vote in the former East German state of Thuringia, exit polls show.
The party is also neck-and-neck with the conservative CDU for first place in the state of Saxony, which also held a regional election today, the polls show.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD) meanwhile look to have scored a disappointing result in both states of between 6.5 and 8.5%.
