In the elections of the states of Saxony and Thuringia, the extreme right and the extreme left have been predicted to win.
18:16•Updated 19:37
In Germany, voting has taken place in the local elections of the states of Saxony and Thuringia. Voting ended at 7 p.m.
According to a door-to-door poll, in Thuringia the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) will become the largest party with 30.5 percent support. The Christian Democratic CDU would get 24.5 percent.
Previously, in Thuringia, the strong left-wing party Linke would lose almost 20 percentage points and remain at 11.5 percent. The Greens would fall short of the five percent vote threshold.
The far-left BSW party becomes the third largest party with 16 percent support.
In the state of Saxony, according to door-to-door polls, the CDU would hold the top spot with 31.5 percent. The AfD rises to exactly that position in the survey after receiving 30 percent of the votes.
BSW would fall short of the forecasts and get 11 percent of the vote.
Changes to government policy?
Both states are located in the eastern part of Germany.
In both states, the predictions have given victory to extremist parties; for the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) and the far-left BSW.
Both parties oppose immigration and the EU, and want to limit or end aid to Ukraine. Even if national-level decisions are not made in the states, the rise of extreme parties would mean difficulties for the government. There should be pressure on the government to change its Ukraine policy.
For governing parties; the social democrats, the greens and the free democrats are facing a stinging election defeat.
For example Bild magazine In the forecast published by In Saxony, the AfD competed evenly with the Christian Democrats for the position of the largest party, with a share of more than 30 percent.
In the forecast, the BSW would get 12 percent of the votes in Saxony and 17 percent in Thuringia, being the third largest party in both states.
The news is updated.