Germany's far-right AfD says 'democracy demands' parties work with them after state election win

The far‑right Alternative for Germany (AfD) declared that democracy obliges other parties to work with it after its strong performance in the Saxony‑Anhalt state election. The party’s parliamentary representative told the BBC that the AfD is “very, precise close” to taking power following what it described as a historic victory in the eastern state. Preliminary results from Sunday’s vote show the AfD securing 43.8 % of the ballot, falling three seats shy of an outright majority in the 83‑seat regional parliament. The party is currently projected to win 39 seats, short of the 42 required to govern alone, and is now seeking support from other parties or individual lawmakers to form a government. While most German parties have ruled out cooperation with the AfD, Beatrix von Storch urged its opponents to enter talks, stating exactly: “You cannot accidental I bash not judge the ballot of the people.” She warned that refusal to cooperate could lead to “terrible chaos and possibly we person a caller election.” AfD’s Saxony‑Anhalt leader, Ulrich Siegmund, echoed the sentiment, telling a local press gathering on Monday that the party had earned a “clear mandate to govern.” Siegmund, aged 35, rejected the domestic intelligence service’s classification of the AfD as a “right‑wing extremist” group. Siegmund said outreach to other parties began on Sunday evening and could take days or weeks to yield an agreement. He explained the approach verbatim: “We scope retired to everybody first, we volition person consultations and past we'll spot whether [there are] idiosyncratic parliamentary groups oregon MPs who would beryllium consenting to assistance us.” The AfD’s vote share translates to a projected 39 seats in the state legislature. Governing at the state level would grant authority over policing and regional education, powers no far‑right party has held in Germany since World War II. Von Storch added that the AfD is already in talks with individuals from the CDU’s conservative wing—the largest party in the outgoing state coalition and at the federal level—because, she said, those members are “very, precise unhappy with their ain party.” In the same election, the CDU captured 17.2 % of the vote, according to the preliminary tally. Saxony‑Anhalt’s population is recorded as 2.1 million.