German far-right AfD surges to second place in Thuringia election
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Voters in the eastern German state of Thuringia boosted the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in regional elections on Sunday, according to preliminary results, but the Left party will remain the dominant political force in the state.
With all districts reporting, results showed the Left party winning 31% of votes in the state that was once part of the communist former East Germany.
The far-right AfD party snagged 23.4% of the vote, making it the second-largest party in the assembly — and pushing German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU party into third place with 21.8%.
Prime Minister of Thuringia and top candidate of The Left (Die Linke) party for the state elections Bodo Ramelow (L) kisses his wife Germana Alberti vom Hofe (R) during a The Left (Die Linke) party event on the evening of the Thuringia state elections in Erfurt, Germany, 27 October 2019. EPA-EFE/JENS SCHLUETER
The turnout for the Thuringia polls was unusually high. Nearly 65% of the state’s 1.7 million voters cast their ballots, compared to less than 53% five years ago. Postal votes were not included in the statistics.
Although the results indicate a historic result for the Left party, the makeup of the future state government remains uncertain.
