Skip next section Protesters gather outside AfD election party
09/22/2024September 22, 2024
Protesters gather outside AfD election party
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside far-right AfD members planned to watch Sunday’s election results in the eastern German state of Brandenburg.
Protesters held placards and banners with slogans including “Potsdam Nazi-free” outside the event on the outskirts of Potsdam, Brandenburg’s state capital.
Initial vote count projections put the AfD in second on 29.8% behind the Social Democrats with 31.2% of the vote.
The AfD had been riding high after finishing first in a state election in Thuringia earlier this month and placing a close second to the center-right Christian Democrats (CDU) in the state of Saxony.
Brandenburg’s domestic intelligence agency has listed the AfD’s state-level party organization as a suspected far-right extremist group. The agency also considers several leading AfD figures in Brandenburg, including top AfD candidate Hans-Christoph Berndt, to be confirmed right-wing extremists.
https://p.dw.com/p/4kx8e
Skip next section First projection gives SPD lead with 31.2%
09/22/2024September 22, 2024
First projection gives SPD lead with 31.2%
The first prognosis based on a partial vote count points to a slightly clearer lead for the Social Democrats in Brandenburg.
The figures, published just under an hour after polls closed, projected 31.2% support for the SPD, and 29.8% for the AfD.
They also suggested that the Christian Democrats (CDU) would lose out in the battle for third place to the new left-wing (BSW).
The BSW appeared on course for 12.1%, versus 11.8% for the CDU.
Again, the Greens were placed right on the cusp of the 5% hurdle required to guarantee representation, at exactly 5.0%.
https://p.dw.com/p/4kx7k
Skip next section Greens’ Nouripour disappointed but relieved at perhaps clearing 5% hurdle
09/22/2024September 22, 2024
Greens’ Nouripour disappointed but relieved at perhaps clearing 5% hurdle
The ‘s national co-chairperson Omid Nouripour, told ZDF he was “relieved,” at least if exit polls prove accurate, that his party would clear the 5% hurdle required to guarantee representation in Brandenburg’s state parliament.
The party had been polling just below this figure before the vote.
But the party had won 10.8% in 2019, and Nouripour also said the party barely eking its way into the state parliament was “not what we had hoped for.”
He acknowledged falling support nationwide for the Greens as well as for the Social Democrats and Free Democrats, the other two parties that make up the federal government.
“We want to fight our way out of this, we want to win back trust,” Nouripour said, adding that it would be necessary to adapt. “We will work our way out of this slump.”
Nouripour also said he believed the Greens might have struggled as a result of the apparent bump in support for the SPD and Woidke, saying the late boost for the Social Democrats “came at a price for us.”
https://p.dw.com/p/4kx6g
Skip next section AfD co-leader Chrupalla hails gains, claims ‘tactical voting’ helped SPD
09/22/2024September 22, 2024
AfD co-leader Chrupalla hails gains, claims ‘tactical voting’ helped SPD
Tino Chrupalla, the co-leader of the AfD at the national level, gave an interview on German TV soon after the results.
“Our goal, quite clearly, was to become the strongest party. We wanted to send Dietmar Woidke into retirement,” Chrupalla said on public broadcaster ZDF, referring to Woidke’s statement that he would retire if the SPD failed to finish with the most votes.
“Nevertheless, we have gained significant support, above all, we made big gains among young voters,” he said.
Chrupalla said he believed the SPD’s apparent late gains and the CDU’s apparent drop in support were related and claimed it was a case of “tactical voting” to keep the AfD from becoming the largest party.
He claimed this showed how “in principle, there are now no differences” between the mainstream rival center-left and center-right parties.
Chrupalla said it had been a bumper month for his party, adding that in the three eastern state elections, “We have won gold once and silver twice.”
https://p.dw.com/p/4kx5r
Skip next section SPD’s Woidke calls campaign ‘hard work,’ voices cautious optimism
09/22/2024September 22, 2024
SPD’s Woidke calls campaign ‘hard work,’ voices cautious optimism
Brandenburg’s state premier and the Social Democrats lead candidate Dietmar Woidke spoke to supporters in Potsdam soon after the polls closed.
“It was hard work, that we’ve put behind us in the past few months,” Woidke said. “But we said, ‘We will take up this fight.’”
He said the party’s goal, “from the beginning,” was to prevent the state being branded with a “large brown stamp.”
Brown was the party color of Adolf Hitler’s NSDAP in the Nazi era, and the color is still used by many in Germany as shorthand for the extreme right.
Woidke said it was still necessary to exercise caution and see how the evening and counting progressed, and noted that even the two main exit polls differed slightly, saying, “We still need a bit of patience.”
“But in any case, one thing’s clear: We have pulled off a comeback the likes of which has never been seen before in the history of this state,” he said.
Woidke did have some words of praise for his party: “As so often in history, it’s Social Democrats who could stop the extremists on their way to power.”
https://p.dw.com/p/4kx5G
Skip next section Big bump in voter turnout projected
09/22/2024September 22, 2024
Big bump in voter turnout projected
First analyses also point to increased participation this year compared to the last Brandenburg state election in 2019.
Public broadcaster ZDF’s projections pointed to a turnout of 73%, similar to Infratest Dimap’s 74% prediction.
By contrast, turnout in 2019 was 61.3%.
https://p.dw.com/p/4kx5C
Skip next section Polls close, exit polls give SPD slim lead over AfD
09/22/2024September 22, 2024
Polls close, exit polls give SPD slim lead over AfD
First exit polls as voting comes to a close give the SPD a lead of 1 percentage point over the AfD.
Figures from Infratest Dimap put the center-left Social Democrats on course for 31.0% of the vote, and the far-right AfD at 30.0%.
The projections also pointed to a very close race for third place.
Both the center-right Christian Democrats and the new left-wing populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) were put on 12.0% support.
The Greens appear right on the cusp of the 5% hurdle that they must clear to guarantee representation in the state parliament.
The socialist Left Party and the pro-business Free Democrats were both set to fall well short of 5%, at 3% and 0.8%, respectively.
https://p.dw.com/p/4kx4V
Skip next section What to expect when polls close
09/22/2024September 22, 2024
What to expect when polls close
Voting is nearly concluded and is scheduled to stop at 6 p.m. local time (1600 GMT/UTC).
Some polling stations might stay open a little longer if queues had formed before the top of the hour.
First projections based on exit polls should follow soon after.
While not guaranteed, these tend to be fairly reliable, usually more so than opinion polls before the vote.
Given that a close race is anticipated between the AfD and SPD, though, it is more likely than usual that any party’s lead in initial projections could be within the margin of error and potentially subject to change as the count progresses.
https://p.dw.com/p/4kx2Q
Skip next section Brandenburg election sees high turnout
09/22/2024September 22, 2024
Brandenburg election sees high turnout
The has seen particularly high voter turnout, according to the state Interior Ministry.
Of the state’s 2.1 million eligible voters, 46% cast a ballot by 2 p.m. local time (1200UTC/GMT). Over half of eligible voters (51.3%) in the Brandenburg state capital of Potsdam have cast a ballot so far.
It’s a jump from the last election in 2019, which garnered a 31.3% eligible voter participation rate by the same time of day.
https://p.dw.com/p/4kwxA
Skip next section Migration the top issue for many voters, DW reporter in Potsdam says
09/22/2024September 22, 2024
Migration the top issue for many voters, DW reporter in Potsdam says
DW correspondent Alex Gerst is reporting from Potsdam in Brandenburg and gave his analysis on whether the can win big in the state election.
“It looks like the far-right AfD could win the elections here. We are expecting a very tight race between the far-right AfD and the Social Democrats, which are leading the governing coalition here in Brandenburg,” Gerst said in front of a polling station, adding that many people casting their ballots in Potsdam told him migration is their top concern.
Gerst said migration poses a difficulty for regional politicians, as migration policy is determined at the federal level, not by Germany’s 16 states.
In regards to the AfD, Gerst said they will fail to get into government, as “no other party wants to cooperate with them.”
https://p.dw.com/p/4kwui
Skip next section Four-legged friends enjoy a special outing in Brandenburg
09/22/2024September 22, 2024
Four-legged friends enjoy a special outing in Brandenburg
While most voting takes place in secret and alone, exceptions are sometimes made for voters with a canine companion.
https://p.dw.com/p/4kwo6
Skip next section Colorful costumes on show in regional vote
09/22/2024September 22, 2024
Colorful costumes on show in regional vote
These members of the Slavic Sorbian community in Brandenberg used election day as a chance to wear traditional bright Spreewald costumes as they cast their ballots.
There are an estimated 60,000 Sorbs in eastern Germany near the Polish border. About a third living in Brandenburg — where they are also known as Wends. The rest live further south, in the state of Saxony.
The largely Catholic community is a tight-knit one, where the Sorbian language is more widely spoken than German.
https://p.dw.com/p/4kwls
Skip next section Brandenburg state premier casts ballot
09/22/2024September 22, 2024
Brandenburg state premier casts ballot
Brandenburg’s Social Democrat (SPD) state premier Dietmar Woidke has cast his vote in the town of Forst in the Spree Neisse district near Germany’s border with Poland.
Speaking to local broadcaster RBB, Woidke said polling was looking better after results from months ago suggested a “certain hopelessness.”
Some parties have tried to turn the state election into a vote on Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s traffic light government at the federal level, said Woidke. “I don’t think that’s paying off.”
Still enjoying relatively high popularity by SPD measures nationally, Woidke has mostly shunned campaigning with Scholz.
He has also taken the unusual step of criticizing some of the behavior and policies of the ruling SPD-led coalition.
Instead, he has tried to highlight economic success stories in the state in the past five years since the last state election.
They include the opening of a and — after years of delays — Brandenburg airport, which serves Berlin. The airport is now Germany’s third most important aviation hub.
https://p.dw.com/p/4kweU
Skip next section Postal voting on the rise in German state election
09/22/2024September 22, 2024
Postal voting on the rise in German state election
Like Chancellor Olaf Scholz, many Brandenburg residents do not even have to go to a polling station today to cast their vote, having already voted by post beforehand.
More applications for postal voting were submitted for the state elections in Brandenburg this year than four years ago.
By the deadline on September 3, there had already been 365,000 applications for postal voting. In the last state election, only 205,000 people had applied for a postal ballot by the deadline.
https://p.dw.com/p/4kwf6
Skip next section German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock casts vote in Brandenburg election
09/22/2024September 22, 2024
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock casts vote in Brandenburg election
has also cast her vote in the Brandenburg election.
Like Scholz, Baerbock — from junior coalition member the Green Party — has also lived for several years in Potsdam.
The politician said she expects a high voter turnout after voting. In the past few days, according to the RBB radio network, Baerbock said it appeared people had recognized the importance of the vote.
“A lot is at stake. The sun is shining today, so hopefully it’s a day of hope,” said Baerbock,
https://p.dw.com/p/4kwbO
The post SPD set to finish ahead of far-right AfD in Brandenburg vote appeared first on Deutsche Welle.