Voting Process - anticipated triumph for AfD in EU polls draws near
During the European election, the AfD is dominating in Brandenburg. As more than 75% of the votes have been counted, the AfD nationwide reached almost 31%, with the CDU trailing at 18.2%. The AfD is now the most prominent political force in eastern Germany, according to ARD calculations.
The SPD secured 12.6% in Brandenburg after the initial results, which indicates significant losses for them. The Greens recorded 4.9% and the Left received 4.2%. Sahra Wagenknecht's new alliance managed to garner 13.3% before the final count.
Approximately 2.1 million residents were called to participate in the European and municipal elections in Brandenburg. This time, there's a higher voter turnout than before, reaching 59.5% in 2019.
The outcome of the European election in Brandenburg is expected by Sunday at 11 pm at the latest. The timing for the results of the municipal election is uncertain. These elections serve as a gauge of public opinion, three and a half months before the state election, although they are not directly comparable.
Berlin's AfD state chairman, Kristin Brinker, sees her party's performance during the European election as a positive outcome. "Despite facing strong opposition, our results demonstrate the necessity of a conservative alternative," said Brinker to the German Press Agency. "The public isn't intimidated by smear campaigns." Preliminary calculations from ARD and ZDF suggest that the AfD finished second in Germany with around 16%. They could even become the strongest party in Eastern Germany.
The CDU in Brandenburg considers the results a wake-up call for the traffic light coalition. "The people of Brandenburg have also rejected the traffic light tonight," said CDU state chairman, Jan Redmann. "The substantial losses endured by the SPD and Greens in Brandenburg during the European election indicate their citizens' growing dissatisfaction with the traffic light's policies. They're driving voters straight into the arms of the AfD," Redmann added. "Despite the positive outcome for the CDU on a national level, we must remember that we need to continue providing the residents of Brandenburg with a credible political option from the democratic center."
In the European election of 2019, the AfD led with 19.9% nationwide, followed by the CDU with 18.0% and the SPD with 17.2%. The Left and Greens each obtained 12.3%, while the FDP stood at 4.4%. Other parties combined tallied 15.1%.
Germany's Federal Chancellor, Olaf Scholz (SPD), cast his vote in Potsdam. Scholz and his wife, Britta Ernst, went to the polling station at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce and waited in line to vote. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) had already voted by mail, as she shared on Instagram a few weeks ago. Both Baerbock and Scholz represent constituencies in Potsdam.
Brandenburg's Minister President, Dietmar Woidke, voted at a polling station in Forst (Spree-Neiße district) in the morning. He expressed hope for a "very, very high turnout" in the two elections, saying that such high participation would help reduce the current extreme margins in Germany.
