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Far-right AfD's Tobias Rausch elected Saxony-Anhalt parliament speaker

Rausch won 48 of 82 votes; four unidentified secret-ballot votes, which observers suspect came from CDU lawmakers, remain unconfirmed.

Updated Oct 7, 2026 · 11:11 UTC4 reports

The short version

Tobias Rausch of the AfD was elected speaker of Saxony-Anhalt's regional parliament on Tuesday with 48 of 82 votes.[Deutsche Welle · The Guardian]
The AfD holds 39 seats, short of a majority, and five BSW politicians voted for Rausch.[The Guardian]
Observers suspect four unidentified secret votes came from CDU lawmakers, but that attribution is unconfirmed.[Deutsche Welle · The Guardian · BBC News]
The regional AfD branch has been classified as confirmed right-wing extremist by the state's Office for the Protection of the Constitution.[Deutsche Welle · BBC News]

Tobias Rausch of the AfD was elected speaker of the Saxony-Anhalt regional parliament on Tuesday, receiving 48 of 82 votes cast.[Deutsche Welle · The Guardian]
The AfD parliamentary group holds 39 seats, narrowly short of an absolute majority.[The Guardian]
Five politicians from the BSW party voted for Rausch.[The Guardian · BBC News]
Four additional secret-ballot votes for Rausch came from unidentified MPs.[The Guardian · BBC News]
The regional branch of the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt has been classified by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as a confirmed right-wing extremist party.[Deutsche Welle]

The identities and party affiliations of the four additional secret-ballot voters are unknown; observers suspect CDU lawmakers, but this is not confirmed.[Deutsche Welle · The Guardian · BBC News]
The extremist classification of the regional AfD is disputed, as party leaders reject the label.[BBC News]

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.