Politics · Germany · 9 hrs ago
Saxony-Anhalt CDU considers leaving chamber before AfD leadership vote
The CDU’s 15 lawmakers in the state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt may leave the chamber together before a December vote for state premier.
The party’s parliamentary leadership has proposed the move, and the group is due to decide on it Tuesday.
The proposal follows a secret vote in which AfD lawmaker Tobias Rausch was elected state parliament president with 48 votes.
The AfD and BSW have 44 lawmakers between them, prompting speculation about where four additional votes came from.
Rausch said he had received votes from CDU members, but the secret ballot does not establish who voted for him.
CDU leaders say they will not support an AfD candidate, and say accusations against their lawmakers have gone too far.
AfD politician Ulrich Siegmund plans to seek the state premiership in December, when lawmakers will vote by secret ballot; the CDU’s proposed walkout is intended to prevent suspicion about how its members vote.
Saxony-Anhalt’s CDU leadership has proposed that its lawmakers leave the state parliament before the December vote for minister-president.
The proposal aims to prevent suspicions that CDU members might support AfD candidate Ulrich Siegmund.
The move follows speculation about how AfD lawmaker Tobias Rausch secured 48 votes to become state parliament president.
The CDU’s parliamentary group is due to decide on the proposal at a meeting on Tuesday.
Siegmund has said he will stand for minister-president in December and plans to run in only one round of voting.
- Who
- The CDU parliamentary group in Saxony-Anhalt is considering leaving the chamber. AfD candidate Ulrich Siegmund plans to seek the minister-president post.
- What
- The CDU group’s executive board proposed that its lawmakers leave together before the vote.
- When
- The vote for minister-president is expected in December 2026. The parliamentary group was due to consider the proposal on Tuesday.
- Where
- The Saxony-Anhalt state parliament.
- Why
- The CDU wants to avoid suspicions that its members could support an AfD candidate and to protect members from accusations over secret ballots.
CDU in Saxony-Anhalt
AfD
Support for an AfD candidate
CDU in Saxony-Anhalt
CDU leaders said support for an AfD candidate was excluded.
AfD
AfD lawmaker Tobias Rausch said he had received votes from CDU members and said support for Siegmund in December had been agreed.
Response to the speculation
CDU in Saxony-Anhalt
The CDU leadership proposed that its lawmakers leave the chamber before the vote.
AfD
Rausch said, “We’ll be wiser once it happens.
AfD lawmaker Tobias Rausch was elected state parliament president with 48 yes votes.
The CDU parliamentary group’s executive board proposed that its lawmakers leave the chamber before the minister-president vote.
The CDU parliamentary group was due to consider the proposal.
AfD candidate Ulrich Siegmund is expected to stand for election as minister-president.
- Rausch’s election
- 48 yes votes
- AfD and BSW seats
- 44 lawmakers combined
- CDU proposal
- Lawmakers leave the chamber together before the vote
- Siegmund’s plan
- Stand for one round of voting
- CDU meeting
- Proposal due for consideration on Tuesday
What people are saying
Anyone who does not cast a ballot cannot be accused of anything afterwards.
The parliamentary group needs a new understanding that everyone can support and that protects each individual.
We’ll be wiser once it happens.
Posts on X
Nach am Wochenende zwischen mir und dem Fraktionsvorsitzenden begonnenen Überlegungen zum Umgang mit der Wahl eines Ministerpräsidenten, habe ich in Absprache mit dem Fraktionsvorsitzenden dem geschäftsführenden Fraktionsvorstand soeben vorgeschlagen, der Fraktion zu empfehlen,
Sources
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