Germany’s anti-immigration party Alternative for Germany is on course for victory in the eastern state of Thuringia, according to statistics.
The AfD will win 30.8% of the vote, public broadcaster ARD suggests, more than six points ahead of the hardline CDU, and ahead of Germany’s three ruling parties.
If confirmed, it would give the far right a chance to win its first vote in the state parliament since the Second World War, although it is unlikely to be able to form a government in Thuringia.
Some five million Germans were eligible to vote in two regional elections in the east on Sunday. The AfD is also close to the conservative CDU in the state parliamentary elections in Saxony.
The ARD exit poll gives the CDU 31.5% and the AfD 30% in Saxony, well ahead of the three parties in charge of the national government.
The AfD’s top candidate in Thuringia, Björn Höcke, is a very controversial figure in Germany.
His group has been labeled extremist and he has been fined for using a Nazi slogan, although the former history teacher denies doing so.
Immigrants played a major role in Sunday’s election, but the AfD also wants to stop the supply of weapons to Ukraine, as does the third-placed party in both states, ex-Communist Sahra Wagenknecht’s BSW.
“Politicians have promised a lot, especially about migrants and foreigners,” AfD voter Michael told the BBC in Thuringia’s state capital, Erfurt.
“But nothing happened. There were only promises from these groups. Now I have my own group. And I stand by my decision.”
If the figures are confirmed, the AfD will win 30 seats in the 88-seat regional parliament in Thuringia, with only one party in the national government represented.
The Social Democratic Party (SPD) of Chancellor Olaf Scholz is expected to win only seven seats, not including the Greens and the liberal FDP.
In Saxony, the CDU is on track to get 31.5% of the vote, just 1.5 points ahead of the AfD.
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