Politics · Germany · 4 hrs ago
CDU lawmakers may leave chamber to avoid votes for AfD candidate
The CDU in Saxony-Anhalt is considering how to prevent suspicions that its lawmakers could vote for AfD candidate Ulrich Siegmund in the December election for state premier.
Bundestag member Sepp Müller has reportedly suggested that the CDU parliamentary group leave the chamber for the first two rounds of voting.
The proposal follows a secret vote in which AfD lawmakers were elected to senior roles in the state parliament with more votes than their parties were expected to have.
CDU members are suspected of providing some of those votes, although the secret ballot did not reveal who voted for whom.
In the first two rounds of the premier vote, a candidate needs support from a majority of all state parliament members; in a third round, a majority of votes cast is enough.
Müller’s suggestion is that CDU lawmakers return for a third round and vote against Siegmund.
The CDU’s acting state executive board is due to discuss the proposal.
Sepp Müller has proposed that CDU lawmakers in Saxony-Anhalt leave the state parliament chamber during the first two rounds of the December vote for minister-president.
The proposal is intended to prevent suspicion that CDU lawmakers cast ballots for AfD candidate Ulrich Siegmund.
The suggestion follows secret votes in which AfD lawmakers received more support than party statements had led observers to expect.
CDU lawmakers have been suspected of voting for AfD candidates Tobias Rausch and Hans-Thomas Tillschneider in those elections.
The CDU’s acting state executive board was due to discuss the proposal.
- Who
- Sepp Müller, a CDU member of the Bundestag, proposed the plan to the CDU state executive board in Saxony-Anhalt.
- What
- He proposed that the CDU parliamentary group leave the chamber for the first two rounds of the minister-president vote.
- When
- The vote is due in December. The article was published on October 12, 2026.
- Where
- The state parliament in Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt.
- Why
- To prevent possible CDU votes for AfD candidate Ulrich Siegmund and avoid renewed suspicion about how CDU lawmakers voted.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
AfD lawmakers Tobias Rausch and Hans-Thomas Tillschneider were elected parliament president and deputy parliament president, receiving more votes than party announcements had suggested.
Müller said he consulted people in the party and constitutional law experts.
The CDU’s acting state executive board was due to discuss Müller’s proposal.
Saxony-Anhalt’s state parliament is due to vote for minister-president.
- Proposed by
- Sepp Müller, CDU member of the Bundestag
- Candidate
- Ulrich Siegmund, AfD minister-president candidate
- Proposed action
- CDU lawmakers leave the chamber for the first two voting rounds
- Earlier AfD vote
- Tobias Rausch received 48 votes; AfD and BSW together had 44 lawmakers
- Reported abstentions
- Eight CDU lawmakers said they abstained in a taz survey; the official result recorded five abstentions
What people are saying
The parliamentary group leaves the chamber together during the election of the minister-president.
Whoever does not cast a ballot cannot be accused of anything afterward. And none of our colleagues has to be questioned individually again about how they voted.
Sources
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