The state of Saxony-Anhalt, located in the heart of Germany, is preparing for regional elections to be held on September 6, 2026. This territory, the birthplace of the Bauhaus and a key site of the Lutheran Reformation, is attracting international media attention this time for significant political reasons. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, led by Ulrich Siegmund, is leading in all the polls by a wide margin, threatening the traditional conservative hegemony.
This situation requires German citizens from Saxony-Anhalt currently in southern Gran Canaria to plan ahead and request their postal voting materials well in advance so they can be sent to their home address in Germany. Alternatively, they must use other methods, such as submitting their request from their home country before traveling to the Canary Islands. The inability to receive the materials at tourist accommodation limits the voting options for this group, forcing them to arrange their voting well in advance.
With the elections approaching, the electoral machinery is being set in motion, including for Saxony-Anhalt residents currently abroad, enjoying holidays in places like southern Gran Canaria. Many German municipalities allow residents to apply for a postal ballot online through their websites, an option frequently used by temporary residents abroad. However, the authorities no longer send international mail to hotels or tourist apartments in Spain. This is due to insufficient time for the documentation to arrive in Gran Canaria and be returned signed to Germany before the vote count closes.
Despite its historical importance and its thriving chemical triangle around Leuna and Bitterfeld, Saxony-Anhalt is a relatively sparsely populated state, with just 2,1 million inhabitants and only two cities, the capital Magdeburg and Halle, exceeding 200,000 residents. Furthermore, the southern part of the state faces a complex process of structural transformation following the decision to abandon lignite mining, with unemployment rates slightly above the national average.
In this context of economic and social change, the AfD has garnered 42 percent support in a poll conducted by the public broadcaster ARD just over a week before the election. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which has governed the state for most of its term since its founding in 1990, trails far behind with 22 percent. The State Office for the Protection of the Constitution officially classifies the AfD as partly far-right, a label that, however, has not eroded the party's popular support.
Meanwhile, the Left Party is polling at 11 percent, and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) at eight percent. Uncertainty hangs over the Greens and the FDP, whose return to the regional parliament is not guaranteed. In the current ARD poll, only the Greens, with six percent support, would gain parliamentary representation. If these results are confirmed, it would represent an unprecedented milestone in postwar Germany: a candidate from a party classified as far-right could become head of the regional government.
