How strong will the extremes become? Saxony and Thuringia elect a new state parliament today

Will the AfD become the strongest party in a German state for the first time? The voters have their say.

Two eagerly awaited state elections have begun in the eastern German states of Saxony and Thuringia. They will decide whether the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) will become the strongest party in a federal state for the first time. Polling stations have been open since 8 am.

In Thuringia, the AfD was well ahead of the Christian Democrats with 21% and the left-wing populist alliance Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) with 20% in the latest polls with around 30%.

In Saxony, Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer's CDU and the AfD were in a neck-and-neck race. As no other party wants to cooperate with the AfD, forming a government is likely to be difficult in both states.

Just under five million eligible voters

In the two federal states, just under five million eligible voters are called to cast their ballots. In Saxony, Kretschmer has governed in a coalition with the SPD and the Greens since the 2019 election. In Thuringia, left-wing politician Bodo Ramelow leads a red-red-green minority government.

The Left Party, which emerged from the GDR state party SED, previously had its strongholds in the east of the republic. It may now have been decisively weakened by the split of the BSW. The AFD is also challenging its role as the protest party of the East.

The first predictions on the outcome of the election are expected as soon as the polling stations close at 6 p.m., with the first projections around half an hour later. The provisional final result should be available late at night. The new state parliaments must be constituted no later than 30 days after the election.

dpa