Germany's far-right AfD hails big victory in east, but falls short of majority
Alternative for Germany hails a "historic" success as preliminary results show a big margin of victory with almost 44% of the vote.
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) has won a decisive victory in Germany's eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, far ahead of mainstream rivals. Preliminary results show it has fallen short of an outright majority, but the AfD says it has won a mandate to govern.
The far-right AfD secured 43.8% of the vote, with the conservative CDU on 17.2%, according to the state election commission's interim results.
Charismatic leader in the state, Ulrich Siegmund, said it was "sensational" and they wanted to start governing as soon as possible.
A crowd of supporters at the AfD election night party HQ erupted in cheers as the projections came up on the screen.