AfD Saxony-Anhalt Adopts Radical Election Program Ahead of September 2026 Vote

The AfD in Saxony-Anhalt adopted a radical election program at a state party conference in Magdeburg on Saturday, April 11, 2026, setting the stage for a campaign centered on a "deportation and remigration offensive," rejection of current climate policy, and a break with what the party describes as a gender ideology-influenced education system. Lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund declared the party's ambition to form the first AfD-led state government in Germany, telling AFP before the start of the meeting that the conference was intended to produce a governing blueprint. State chairman Martin Reichardt, who chairs the Saxony-Anhalt branch of the party, spoke of a "change of power" and described the AfD as the "battering ram of the people." The two-day conference took place against a backdrop of several hundred protesters gathered outside the venue, with police confirming participation across five registered assemblies. The Verfassungsschutz of Saxony-Anhalt classifies the state AfD association as a proven right-wing extremist organization.

Siegmund targets absolute majority, governing alone Siegmund, who has served as a member of the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament since 2016 and has co-chaired the AfD parliamentary group since 2022, set an explicit electoral target at the congress. According to Handelsblatt, he stated the goal of reaching "45 percent plus X" in order to govern without a coalition partner. The party has polled at around 40 percent in Saxony-Anhalt for months, placing it significantly ahead of the CDU, according to Handelsblatt and Tagesspiegel. Saxony-Anhalt state premier Sven Schulze of the CDU has repeatedly ruled out a coalition with the AfD, stating that no AfD minister would sit at his cabinet table. Siegmund dismissed concerns about an AfD-led government as "nonsense," saying there was "no reason for a righteous citizen to be afraid" and that "the bulldozer is not rolling through the country here and tearing everything down." The state election in Saxony-Anhalt is scheduled for September 6, 2026.

40 (percent) — AfD polling share in Saxony-Anhalt, stable for months

AfD Saxony-Anhalt — Road to the September Election: — ; —

Self-defense courses instead of anti-racism training, civic agency to close The program adopted at the conference contains a series of specific policy proposals that go beyond migration. Deputy state chairman Hans-Thomas Tillschneider stated during the presentation that children do not need anti-racism training but rather self-defense courses, and led delegates in chanting "East, East, East Germany." The AfD program calls for the abolition of the State Agency for Civic Education and for the termination of inter-state broadcasting treaties. Associations are to receive public subsidies only if they demonstrate, in the party's words, "a credible commitment to the democratic order and to a patriotic basic attitude." An original proposal to end state payments to churches without compensation was softened before adoption. In the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament, the AfD parliamentary group has previously pushed proposals including a "Road of the German Empire," described the Bauhaus as an "aberration of modernity," and sought to replace the state's advertising slogan with the phrase "think German."

The AfD was founded in Germany in 2013. The Saxony-Anhalt branch has been classified as a proven right-wing extremist organization by the state's intelligence service. Ulrich Siegmund has been a member of the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament since 2016 and has co-led the AfD parliamentary group since August 2022. Martin Reichardt has chaired the AfD state association in Saxony-Anhalt since a period during which the branch received its extremist classification in 2023, according to his Wikipedia entry.

Protesters carry rainbow flags, "Grannies against the Right" join rally The protests outside the conference building drew several hundred participants, according to a police spokesperson cited by Deutsche Presse-Agentur. Demonstrators carried rainbow flags and banners reading "No to Racism" and "Magdeburg for the AfD Ban," according to an AFP reporter present at the scene. Among those attending were members of the group Omas gegen Rechts — known in English as Grannies Against the Right — as well as members of other parties including the Greens. Reinhard Dasbach, a 61-year-old Greens member, told AFP the AfD had to be "prevented at all costs," citing concerns over the party's positions on EU membership, immigration, and renewable energy. Student Luzie Gebhardt, 23, said the demonstrations were about "showing our faces, that we in the city are still more numerous than the people who support the AfD." Business representatives also voiced reservations, with an industry spokesperson quoted by Handelsblatt acknowledging shared concerns about deindustrialization but criticizing the AfD for remaining "vague regarding solutions," particularly in energy policy, where "resilient concepts are missing."

„Today we would like to adopt a government program that will be the basis for the first AfD-led government in all of Germany” — Ulrich Siegmund via AFP