German Elections, SPD-AfD Head to Head in Brandenburg: Exit Polls and News

SPD leads AfD in elections in Brandenburg, Germany, according to exit polls for local votes.

The projections published by the public television networks ARD and ZDF effectively describe a neck-and-neck race, with the Social Democrats, led by Dietmar Woidke who has been Prime Minister of Brandenburg for 11 years, between 31 and 32%, an increase compared to 2019 when they had 26.2%. The AfD is given between 29 and 30%, and the CDU is far behind at between 11.5 and 12%, a decrease compared to the 15.6% of five years ago.

The new left-wing populist party, the Sarah Wagenknecht Alliance, named after the former Linke member who founded it, obtained 12%, with the collapse of the other left-wing formations not only Linke, in 2019 at 10.7% and now between 3 and 4%, but also the Greens, also above 10% five years ago, and now between 4.5 and 5%.

Woidke, who now governs with a coalition of the Social Democrats, CDU and Greens, has said he will only remain in government if the SPD overtakes the AfD in the election.