AfD clinches historic win in Saxony-Anhalt, minorities vow to stay despite rising racism

On election day in Saxony-Anhalt, the Alternative für Deutschland won nearly 44% of the vote, the strongest performance for a far-right party at the state level since the Second World War. The result has intensified fear among immigrant communities; Syrian-born citizen Alaa Yakoub Agha was shouted at to “go back to your own country,” and she now worries about her daughter’s safety. Yazidi-Kurdish candidate Mamad Mohamad, now representing Alliance90/Greens, said the outcome forces many migrants to reconsider staying in the state.

While a coalition of centre-right, centre-left and left-wing parties could still form a “firewall” to block the AfD, the party’s Saxony-Anhalt manifesto calls for state-level deportations, segregation of refugee children, bans on rainbow flags and limits on Islamic expression. Analysts note a shift from protest voting to active support, with about 36% of voters expressing trust in the AfD. Minority groups urge federal intervention to guarantee their safety if the state cannot protect them.