AfD honorary chairman Gauland wins constituency for himself

The AfD's honorary chairman Alexander Gauland won by far the most votes in the Chemnitz constituency in the Bundestag election and therefore has the best chance of entering parliament under the new electoral law. The 84-year-old came out on top on Sunday with 32.2 percent. CDU politician Nora Seitz received 21.4 percent and SPD candidate Detlef Müller 16.7 percent. Müller had won the direct mandate in Chemnitz in the previous election in 2021.

Marten Richard Henning (Linke) achieved 10.0% of the first votes. The former Saxon Green Party leader Christin Furtenbacher achieved 4.6%. FDP candidate Norma Grube received 2.3 percent.

Because of the electoral law reform, which is now taking effect for the first time, not all victorious constituency direct candidates will automatically enter the Bundestag: they will only receive a mandate if their party receives enough second votes, otherwise the constituency will be left empty-handed in the first votes. In return, the previously customary overhang and compensatory mandates no longer apply. In future, the Bundestag will have 630 MPs instead of the current 733.