Landtag Sachsen-Anhalt: Verlässt die CDU bei der Ministerpräsidentenwahl den Saal?

Magdeburg saw the CDU in Saxony-Anhalt announce that their members will leave the chamber before voting on the minister-president election, in an effort to dispel suspicions that AfD members might support a candidate from their own party. The CDU executive board proposed this move to 15 faction members, with a decision expected at a faction meeting on Tuesday.

Faction leader Sven Schulze and the faction's parliamentary director, Stefan Ruland, affirmed that allegations against CDU faction members have crossed a line. They ruled out supporting any AfD candidates. The "Mitteldeutsche Zeitung" reported that Bundestag member Sepp Müller (CDU) also suggested this tactic, stating that not casting a ballot means no one can criticize how one voted.

Müller aims to become the new CDU Landtag leader at a party congress in early December. The previous week, AfD member Tobias Rausch won the election to become Landtag president with 48 votes. Speculation arose about the origin of the remaining four votes, often pointing to the CDU, which had an abstention recommendation on its voting recommendation.

However, there were only five abstentions in total. Rausch fueled the rumors by confirming he received "yes" votes from CDU members. When asked if Ulrich Siegmund (AfD) could also receive these four votes from the CDU faction for the December minister-president election, Rausch said it had been agreed upon. "We're cleverer once it happens."

AfD leader Ulrich Siegmund announced his intention to stand for the minister-president election in December.