Saxony-Anhalt parliament elects AfD's Tobias Rausch as president with 48 votes

Vote in Magdeburg

Lawmakers in the state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt elected Tobias Rausch of Alternative for Germany (AfD) as their president during a secret ballot on 6 October 2026. The 35-year-old received 48 votes in the first round, surpassing the 44-vote threshold required for an absolute majority in the 82-member session. AfD holds 39 seats following the 6 September election, in which it won 43.8% of the vote. Five lawmakers from the BSW alliance had pledged their support in advance, while German media estimated that four members of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) also backed Rausch after CDU leadership advised its members to abstain. A total of 29 parliamentarians voted against Rausch, and five abstained.

Political reactions and the firewall

Rausch's election is the first time since the end of the Second World War in 1945 that a politician from a party classified by domestic intelligence as far-right leads a German state parliament. In his inaugural speech, Rausch addressed the chamber regarding how he intends to conduct himself in office.

I will not hold this office as a parliamentary group leader, but as the president of the entire state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt.

Rausch stated that cross-party backing showed the political firewall against the AfD had to become a thing of the past. Ulrich Siegmund, head of the AfD parliamentary group and candidate for state premier, described the ballot as a dress rehearsal ahead of the scheduled vote for minister-president in December 2026.

Every vote above 44 would of course be a good sign for establishing the first AfD-led government in December.

Protests inside and outside parliament

Outside the parliament building, approximately 500 demonstrators gathered at Cathedral Square in Magdeburg with banners warning against cooperation with the far right. Inside the plenary hall, the session opened with remarks by senior lawmaker Eva von Angern from Die Linke, who referenced Clara Zetkin's 1932 opening address and cited Article 1 of the German Basic Law on the inviolability of human dignity. AfD lawmakers did not applaud when von Angern cited former federal president Richard von Weizsäcker. Katja Pähle, leader of the Green parliamentary group, placed a white rose on Rausch's desk and handed him a copy of the state constitution, citing Article 37a on preventing the revival of National Socialist ideology.

Powers of the Landtag presidency

The president of the Saxony-Anhalt Landtag exercises broad statutory authority, including chairing plenary sessions, issuing disciplinary measures to lawmakers, and inviting official state guests. The officeholder possesses house rights over all parliamentary facilities, exercising police powers and determining building access. In addition, the president manages the parliamentary administration, with the authority to dismiss and reassign staff members. Rausch, a real estate broker who previously served as the AfD regional general secretary, was also subject to domestic scrutiny earlier in 2026 regarding allegations of nepotism over the hiring of family members to parliamentary positions.