Exit polls in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt point to a large victory for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), putting it far ahead of mainstream rivals and raising the prospect of the party taking control of a German state government for the first time since the Second World War. The result would be a significant milestone for the AfD's efforts to move from protest party to governing force, though it remains unclear whether the projected vote share translates into enough seats to actually form a government.

Exit polls put the AfD on 44-44.5% of the vote, well ahead of the conservative CDU on 18.5%. Party leaders, including the state's AfD leader Ulrich Siegmund, hailed the outcome as "historic" and said he would not govern in coalition with any other party. Saxony-Anhalt, home to around 2.1 million people, would give the AfD control over policing, education and culture if it takes power, though the final outcome may depend on whether smaller parties clear the 5% threshold needed to enter parliament. The state's AfD branch is classified by domestic intelligence as "far-right extremist", a label Siegmund rejects.