Germany’s Saxony-Anhalt state election on Sunday, 6 September, has left migrants and other minorities fearing what could follow if the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) wins enough votes to lead the government. Polls suggest the far-right party is likely to win the most votes, but the result and its ability to govern alone remain uncertain.
The AfD’s Saxony-Anhalt manifesto promises a major overhaul of migration policy, including deportations “from day one”, separate education for refugee children and a unit focused on “remigration”. For people awaiting asylum decisions, Ukrainian refugees and residents with migrant backgrounds, the vote has become a question of security and whether they can remain in the state.
A campaign shaped by fear of deportation
Fatemeh, 44, fled Iran with her son three years ago after he was stopped by police during a protest over the death in custody of Mahsa Amini. They are awaiting a final decision on their asylum claim in Saxony-Anhalt, where her son has developed as an athlete and learned to repair vehicles.
Fatemeh said she feared the family could be sent back to Iran and that, as a converted Christian, she could face the death penalty. Undra Dreßler of Lamsa, an umbrella group for migrant organisations in the state, said calls were arriving daily from people considering whether to leave. In June, Lamsa appealed to Germany’s other 15 states to prepare to receive refugees from Saxony-Anhalt as a precaution.
Key figures
- Foreign nationals make up about 9% of Saxony-Anhalt’s population, compared with approximately 15% nationwide.
- More than one in four doctors in the state’s hospitals, or 27.1%, do not hold a German passport.
- A survey cited by the Advisory Council for Integration and Migration suggested that as many as 80% of people with a migration background in Saxony-Anhalt are considering leaving.
- Saxony-Anhalt’s average age is 48.2, the highest in Germany.
Racism and pressure on public services
The political tension intensified after a Saudi man drove into a crowded Christmas market in Magdeburg in late 2024, killing six people and injuring hundreds. Authorities described him as an anti-Islam activist sympathetic to the far right, while rightwing voices used the attack to scapegoat migrants and minorities. Dreßler said that by mid-2025 her organisation had received as many reports of racist insults and attacks as during all of 2024.
Foreign nationals are important to sectors including hospitality and elderly care. In May, the state medical association said that losing foreign doctors could mean longer waiting times or hospital closures, especially in rural areas. Hamid, a 41-year-old Iranian paramedic, said removing migrants from healthcare would leave the system unable to function.
Concerns extend to Jewish and Ukrainian communities
At Magdeburg’s synagogue, residents questioned how an AfD majority could affect funding and what its proposed “remigration offensive” would mean for Ukrainian refugees who joined the congregation after Russia’s full-scale invasion. The party’s manifesto calls for legal measures to restrict Islam’s influence and proposes changes to the school curriculum, including a greater focus on Otto von Bismarck and less on Adolf Hitler.
Rabbi Igor Mendel Itkin warned that reducing attention to National Socialism and the Holocaust could have consequences beyond the Jewish community. Maria Schubert of the Synagogue Community of Magdeburg said an AfD victory would create an unfamiliar dilemma over how Jewish residents should engage with the party.
What happens next
Saxony-Anhalt will hold its state election on Sunday, 6 September. The result will determine whether the AfD merely wins the most votes or gains the position needed to lead the state government alone.
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