On 4 November 2026, it remains unclear whether Ulrich Siegmund (AfD) can be elected Minister-President of Saxony-Anhalt in December. According to consistent reports from the state parliament and from parliamentary groups, he is at least three votes short of an absolute majority in the first ballot. Although the AfD has been the largest group since the state election on 6 September 2026, it does not have a majority of its own.
The head of government is elected in a three-stage process: an absolute majority of all members of the state parliament is required in the first two ballots. Only in the third ballot is a majority of votes cast sufficient. The vote is secret and takes place without debate. This means that in the third round, a candidate can be elected even if they receive fewer votes than an absolute majority—for example, if MPs abstain or are absent from the chamber. The state parliament's presiding officers oversee the process, schedule the votes and apply the rules of procedure.
Politically, the situation is deadlocked. The CDUparliamentary group says it will leave the chamber as a united bloc if the AfD candidate comes up for a vote. The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) has indicated it will abstain in the third ballot. Representatives of SPD, the Greens and the Left have ruled out supporting Siegmund. In these circumstances, the arithmetic suggests Siegmund could be elected only if individual MPs from other groups also broke ranks. Whether that will happen is unclear.
What is clear is that if a candidate fails in the first two rounds, the state parliament can schedule further ballots. Parliamentary groups can put forward rival candidates or take time to consider their negotiating options. Election by a relative majority in the third round would be legally valid, but politically controversial. If the third attempt also fails, the state parliament's presiding officers, in consultation with the parliamentary groups, would have to continue the process and set new dates.
Regardless of the outcome, the current situation highlights the strategic importance of abstentions, absences and party discipline. It also shows how limited the scope is for minority or confidence-and-supply arrangements in Saxony-Anhalt under the rules currently in force.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).