Angela Merkel’s centre-right CDU was projected to finish ahead in Saxony-Anhalt, where voters went to the polls to elect a new state assembly on Sunday, in an election seen as a last test before the national election in September.
The CDU was projected to win 36% of votes, according to German public broadcaster ARD, with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) projected to win around 22.5% of the vote, a slight drop compared to 2016.
Five years ago, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) won the last election in the sparsely populated state of 2.2 million.
But opinion polls showed the party in a tight race against the far-right AfD, which came second in Saxony-Anhalt in 2016.
But the election result is a strong endorsement of incumbent governor Reiner Haseloff, a member of Merkel’s CDU, who will be able to pick from three possible coalitions with smaller parties.
The 67-year-old Haseloff had ruled out any cooperation with AfD or the ex-communist Left party.
A strong win in the state could foster hope the party’s new leader, Armin Laschet, will be able to gather support from both conservatives and centrists in this fall’s national election.
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The AfD has benefited from anti-government sentiment in the state, which until 1990 was part of communist East Germany.
The party has moved steadily further to the right in recent years and its chapter in Saxony-Anhalt has come under increased scrutiny from Germany’s domestic intelligence service for its ties to extremist groups.
The AfD has lately campaigned strongly against pandemic restrictions, and its election posters urged voters to demonstrate their “resistance” at the ballot box.
The environmentalist Greens, were projected to win 6.5% and the centre-left Social Democrats were projected to win 8.5%.
Projections indicate the pro-business Free Democrats will enter the state assembly again after missing out five years ago.