Midday Voter Rush: 2023 Turnout Mirrors 2019 Election Frenzy

The state elections in Thuringia and Saxony are looked forward to with excitement across the country. Voting started quietly until there was a police operation at the polling station in Gera.

The state elections in Thuringia and Saxony are initially showing a similar turnout to the previous elections in 2019. By midday, 25.8 percent of those eligible to vote in Saxony had cast their ballots, as which the State Statistical Office in Kamenz announced. In the previous state election in 2019, the value was 26.2 percent at the same time.

So the preliminary figures do not yet take postal voters into account. It is expected that 24.6 per cent of those eligible to vote will exercise their right to vote by post, he said. In 2019 it was 16.9 per cent.

In Thuringia, according to the state returning officer, around 32 percent of those eligible to vote had cast their ballots at the polling stations by 12 pm According to the state returning officer, postal voters have not included in these figures. In the 2019 state election, turnout was currently 31.2 per cent.

Those eligible to vote can still cast their votes until 6 pm The elections are seen as a test of sentiment before the 2025 federal election according to surveys in both countries, the AfD can hope for record results of about 30 percent of the vote. But apparently she can’t govern due to lack of partners. The formation of a difficult coalition is expected, which the new alliance Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) wants to be part of. In Saxony, Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) has a chance of another term in office – in Thuringia, Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow (Left) has to fear for his job. The traffic light parties SPD, Greens and FDP are threatened with a bitter defeat.

Despite the difficult situation, Kretschmer was convinced that he would lead the incoming state government in the Free State. “It must be the Saxon Union. We are here in Saxony, we will not allow ourselves to be talked into it. We are going our own Saxon way,” said the CDU politician after went to the ballot box in Dresden this morning. The UDP has ruled Saxony since 1990.

As of midday, no major disruption to the election was reported. In Gera there was a police operation due to a threat at a polling station. A man wearing an AfD T-shirt entered the polling station to cast his vote in the morning, a police spokesman said. The polling station manager then asked the man to remove the shirt because he was banned from advertising a party at the polling station.

The man complied with the request. However, on leaving the polling station site, he threatened to “come back” because he was unhappy with the way he was treated. The police made a report and warned the man. Other media reported the incident previously.

In addition, police in Erfurt are investigating some political graffiti (“Höcke is a Nazi”) near polling stations on Sunday night for property damage, a police spokesman said.