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). According to polls, the AfD has been leading with support in the 40% range, while the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has been polling in the low-to-mid-20% range.

The CDU has led the state government since 2002, but if the AfD's polling holds, it would become Saxony-Anhalt's largest party for the first time. However, every other major party has ruled out allying with the AfD, which would likely need to secure an outright majority to govern. Alternatively, a broader coalition made up of other parties is also a possibility.

Saxony-Anhalt is one of Germany's 16 federal states, with a population of around 2.1 million people. It is one of the country's most sparsely populated states, with only two cities, Magdeburg and Halle, having more than 200,000 inhabitants. The election's outcome is being closely watched in Berlin and beyond, with some describing it as one of the most polarizing elections since Brexit or the 2016 US presidential election.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Local Germany, The Local Germany, DW News, DW English (Top Stories) — 4 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.