AfD wins Saxony-Anhalt election with 43.8 percent; Merz to speak at 1:30 p.m

The AfD won the state election in Saxony-Anhalt with 43.8 percent, but fell short of an absolute majority, according to the final preliminary result announced Monday morning. Chancellor Friedrich Merz is scheduled to speak at 1:30 p.m. about the outcome. The CDU received 17.2 percent, followed by the SPD with 9.3 percent, the Greens with 8.9 percent, the Left with 8.6 percent, and the BSW with 5.3 percent. The FDP failed to enter parliament with 2.6 percent. Voter turnout was 77.8 percent. AfD leader Ulrich Siegmund has suggested he may seek defectors from the CDU or call for new elections. Elon Musk congratulated the AfD, and Siegmund expressed interest in cooperating with the tech entrepreneur. Protests against the result are planned in Leipzig.