AfD seeks first parliamentary presidency
Saxony-Anhalt’s new parliament convenes after an election victory for the right-radical party.
Follow-up to: CDU rules out backing AfD candidate Sunday, 4 October 2026, 21:00
The parliament of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt will meet for the first time on Tuesday after the regional election. The AfD wants Tobias Rausch elected parliamentary president, possibly with support from the BSW; this would give the party such a position in a German state parliament for the first time.
The 83 elected deputies will meet on Tuesday in Magdeburg for the constituent session. The agenda includes the election of a new parliamentary president. According to the state government, the first session must take place no later than 30 days after the election.
The AfD became the largest parliamentary group in the election of 6 September. According to the official result, the party won 38 of the 83 seats. It therefore has no absolute majority, but does have a strong starting position for the new parliament’s first procedural decisions.
The party has put Tobias Rausch forward as its candidate. According to Deutschlandfunk, support from Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht could help him secure a majority. The BSW has five seats. CDU, SPD, Linke and Grünen have ruled out cooperation with the AfD.
The election of the president is primarily symbolically important. In German parliaments, the position often goes to the largest parliamentary group, but the parliament is not obliged to elect that group’s candidate. The president leads meetings and represents the parliament, but does not independently determine government policy.
In Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD is classified as demonstrably right-wing extremist by the state security service. The possible election of an AfD candidate has therefore become part of a broader debate about the so-called Brandmauer, the political agreement among other parties not to cooperate with the AfD.
The first session does not yet determine who will govern the state. German reports say the election of a minister-president is expected only later. For Dutch readers, the development is relevant because Saxony-Anhalt’s parliament could become the first German state parliament with an AfD president, while the party is seeking to join a government.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- The AfD is the largest parliamentary group in the new state parliament.
- The state security service has classified the party as right-wing extremist in Saxony-Anhalt.
- The election of a parliamentary president does not yet determine who governs the state.
Left
Arguments A party classified as right-wing extremist by the security service should not be given a key position. Other parties should protect democratic institutions and refuse to cooperate.
Values Antifascism, minority rights and democratic resilience.
Consequences A cordon sanitaire can counter the normalisation of extremism, but increases the political pressure on parties seeking to keep the AfD out of government.
Centre
Arguments Parliamentary positions should be allocated according to established rules and on the basis of votes. At the same time, parties must account transparently for any cooperation and safeguard constitutional limits.
Values Procedural legitimacy, the rule of law and governmental stability.
Consequences An institutional approach can limit escalation, but leaves the symbolic significance of the election intact.
Right
Arguments Voters have made the AfD the largest parliamentary group and should be able to exert influence through parliamentary positions. Permanently excluding the party could be seen as contempt for the election result.
Values The voters’ mandate, parliamentary equality and political competition.
Consequences Allowing the AfD to hold positions could legitimise it, but exclusion could further strengthen its support among voters.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The procedure, distribution of seats and candidacy were checked against official and public German sources. The text makes no statement about an election result that was not yet known at the time of publication.
- confirmed Saxony-Anhalt’s parliament has 83 elected deputies. — The official website of the state parliament states this. source
- confirmed The AfD won 38 seats. — The official election result gives the distribution of seats. source
- confirmed Tobias Rausch is a candidate for the presidency. — Deutschlandfunk reports the candidacy. source
- confirmed Other parties have ruled out cooperation with the AfD. — Deutschlandfunk describes these positions of CDU, SPD, Linke and Grünen. source
Editor's note
The session and the distribution of seats have been confirmed. As of 07:34, the outcome of the election of the president was not yet known; the text therefore uses the future or conditional tense.Sources
- Landtag Sachsen-Anhalt: Startseite — Landtag Sachsen-Anhalt
- Nach dem AfD-Wahlsieg: Landtag von Sachsen-Anhalt tritt zur ersten Sitzung zusammen — Deutschlandfunk
- Konstituierende Sitzung in Sachsen-Anhalt: Die AfD und die ganz große Bühne — Tagesschau
- Sachsen-Anhalt election results 2026 — Die Bundeswahlleiterin
The story so far
- Sunday, 4 October 2026, 21:00 CDU rules out backing AfD candidate
- Tuesday, 6 October 2026, 07:43 AfD seeks first parliamentary presidency (this article)
More on this in Dutch media
- RTL Nieuws — „duitsland saksen-anhalt”
- NOS — „duitsland saksen-anhalt”
- Het Parool — „duitsland saksen-anhalt”