Thousands march for democracy ahead of eastern German vote

Thousands of people marched for democracy in eastern Germany on Saturday, a day before a regional election in Saxony-Anhalt state. The election is expected to result in a historic win for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, according to The Local Germany.

Saxony-Anhalt, one of Germany's 16 federal states, has a population of around 2.1 million people and is one of the country's most sparsely populated states. The center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has led the state government since 2002.

The AfD has dominated polls, typically drawing support in the 40% range, while the CDU has received low-to-mid-20% support. If the AfD's polling holds, it would become Saxony-Anhalt's largest party for the first time, DW News reported.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Local Germany, DW News, DW English (Top Stories) — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.