Anti-Mass Migration Parties Make Big Gains in German State Elections | 1 Sept 2024 | Populist anti-mass migration parties made significant gains in state elections in Germany on Sunday, with the right-wing Alternative for Germany projected to have secured a resounding victory in Thuringia. Exit polls for the east German state of Thuringia have put the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) out on top, with a projected 30.5 per cent of the vote, beating out the neo-liberal centrist Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party formerly led by Chancellor Angela Merkel at 24.5 per cent. Should the exit polls prove true, it would mark the first time that the AfD was the winner in a state election in Germany. Separately, in the state of Saxony, the AfD is in a tight race for the top with the CDU, with exit polls projecting the centrist party to have won 31.5 per cent of the vote, compared to 30 per cent for the AfD, broadcaster DW reports. [The outcome of these elections depends on whether or not Germany uses electronic "voting" machines or paper ballots.]