According to the public broadcaster's polling station survey, the AfD receives 44.5 percent of the vote, but that is not enough for a majority of its own.
So far, no party has wanted to cooperate with the AfD, and it is uncertain whether the historic result is enough for Siegmund to govern Saxony-Anhalt.
"We will reach out with all our might," he says, but also admits that he currently does not see anyone to form a coalition with.
Much of Saxony-Anhalt's political future depends on Sahra Wagenknecht's left-wing breakaway party, the BSW. According to preliminary figures, the party is receiving 5.0 percent, just above the state's threshold.
In addition to the BSW being a potential lifeline for the AfD to collaborate with, the party's fortunes also affect the distribution of seats in the state parliament. According to the ARD television channel, 57 percent of BSW voters want to see such cooperation.
The party's top candidate in the state, Claudia Wittig, does not want to commit to a yes or no on the issue of cooperation in the televised election vigil.
We want to do what is good for the country, then we'll see if it's with or without the AfD.
CDU halved
The result was not surprising, since in May the AfD has been above 40 percent in opinion polls in Saxony-Anhalt, well ahead of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's CDU.
The party halved its share of the vote to 18.5 percent, but still became the second-largest party according to the exit poll. In the last state election, in 2021, the figures for the two parties were the opposite - then the AfD received 20.8 percent and the CDU 37.1.
The Social Democratic SPD is expected to land at 8.0 percent, while the liberal FDP will fall below the threshold with 2.0 percent.
Record number of voters
With just over two million inhabitants, Saxony-Anhalt is one of the smaller states in Germany. But the election is seen as symbolically important and an indication of the AfD's potential for similar success nationally.
Among other things, the party wants to fundamentally overhaul migration policy, invest in more Russian language teaching in schools and "good relations" with Moscow, scrap wind farm construction and close down public service media.
According to the television channel MDR, voter turnout was record-high; by 4 p.m., over 65.3 percent had already voted, which is more than in any local election in Saxony-Anhalt since German reunification in 1990.
This is how the election went according to ARD's polling station survey.
Right-wing nationalist AfD: 44.5 percent (20.8 in the 2021 election)
Christian Democratic Union (CDU): 18.5 percent (37.1)
Left Party Die Linke: 9.4 percent (11.0)
Social Democratic Party SPD: 8.2 percent (8.4)
Liberal FPD: 2.1 percent (6.4)
The Greens: 8.9 percent (5.9)
Left-wing conservative BSW: 5.0 percent (-)
Others: 3.4 percent
