2026 Saxony-Anhalt state election

According to Article 43 of the State Constitution, the state election must take place between the 58th and 62nd month after the start of the legislative period, unless the period is terminated early. The legislative period of the state parliament elected on 6 June 2021 began with its first session on 6 July 2021. Consequently, possible election dates initially included all Sundays and public holidays between 10 May and 6 September 2026. In May 2025, the state parliament designated 6 September 2026, thus the last possible day, as the election date.^[1]

The State Parliament of Saxony-Anhalt consists of at least 83 members, though this number may increase due to overhang and compensatory mandates. Of these, 41 members are directly elected in constituencies, while the remaining seats are allocated to parties based on their state lists. Each voter has two votes: a first vote (Erststimme) to elect a constituency representative and a second vote (Zweitstimme) to select a party’s state list, which determines the proportional distribution of seats in the parliament. The allocation of seats is governed by the Hare/Niemeyer method, with only parties receiving at least 5% of the valid second votes considered for proportional distribution. The State Election Committee oversees the process, first determining the total second votes cast for each state list. Seats are then distributed as follows:

1. The committee identifies the number of seats won by independent constituency candidates and by parties that fail to meet the 5% threshold. These are subtracted from the base number of 83 seats to calculate the seats available for proportional allocation.
2. The remaining seats are distributed among qualifying parties based on their second vote totals. Each party’s share is calculated by multiplying the total remaining seats by the party’s second votes, divided by the total second votes of all qualifying parties. Whole seats are assigned first, and any remaining seats are allocated based on the highest fractional remainders. In case of ties, a lottery conducted by the State Election Officer decides.
3. If a party with over half of the second votes receives less than half of the available seats, it is awarded an additional seat before further distribution.
4. Seats won in constituencies are deducted from a party’s total allocated seats, with the remainder filled from the party’s state list in the order specified. Candidates already elected in constituencies are excluded from the state list allocation.
5. Overhang mandates occur when a party wins more constituency seats than its proportional share. In such cases, the total number of parliamentary seats increases by twice the number of overhang seats, and the distribution process is repeated. If overhang seats persist, they are retained by the party, and the total number of seats is adjusted accordingly. This process continues until the overhang seats no longer exceed half the number required to form a parliamentary group, calculated as the seats a hypothetical party with 5% of second votes would receive.
6. Non-elected candidates on state lists of parties securing at least one seat are designated as substitutes in the order determined by the State Election Committee, excluding those already elected in constituencies. The election adheres to the provisions of the Saxony-Anhalt Election Law (Landeswahlgesetz, LWG), as published on 18 February 2010, and the state’s electoral regulations. This system ensures a balance between direct constituency representation and proportional party representation, with mechanisms to address disparities caused by overhang mandates while maintaining fair seat allocation.^[2]

In the 2021 Saxony-Anhalt state election, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) emerged again as the strongest party. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) experienced slight losses but remained the second-largest force. Contrary to pre-election predictions of a tight race between the CDU and AfD, the CDU secured a 16-percentage-point lead over the AfD.^[3]

The Left Party (Die Linke) also recorded losses, achieving 11% of the vote. The Social Democratic Party (SPD) suffered its worst result in Saxony-Anhalt's history. The Free Democratic Party (FDP), with 6.4% of the vote, returned to the state parliament after a decade-long absence. The Greens secured 5.9%, narrowly retaining their parliamentary representation.^[3]

Following the election, due to a fragile 49/97 majority "Grand Coalition" between the CDU and SPD alone, the FDP was included, and the CDU, SPD, and FDP formed a black-red-yellow coalition, with same political colors as in the German flag, thus known as the "Germany Coalition", and consisting of all the three factions that were represented in the West-Germany-only Bundestag from 1961 to 1983.^[4][5]

Reiner Haseloff (CDU) was re-elected as Minister-President and head of the state government, though he secured a majority of votes only in the second ballot. The coalition government holds a clear majority in the state parliament, commanding 56 of the 97 seats.^[6]