Glitch in Saxony election fixed - provisional result remains

The software glitch in the calculation of the distribution of seats in the new Saxon state parliament has been fixed. The error had no effect on the provisional election result, the state election management announced.

According to the preliminary results, the CDU has 31.9 percent, with the AfD just behind at 30.6 percent. The BSW achieved 11.8 percent from a standing start. The SPD landed at 7.3% and the Greens at 5.1%. The Left Party slipped to 4.5 percent and the FDP to 0.9 percent.

The decision on the distribution of seats in the 8th Saxon state parliament will be made by the state election committee after the official final result, which is still pending, it was added. Due to the recalculation following the mishap, however, the AfD probably does not have a so-called blocking minority in the state.

The party had initiated an investigation. "If there are any irregularities, we will take legal action," said Jörg Urban, the Saxon AfD state and parliamentary group leader, and demanded a precise error analysis.

A blocking minority means that a party has more than a third of the mandates in the state parliament. In this case, it can prevent certain state laws that are passed with a two-thirds majority of all MPs. In Saxony, as in other federal states, constitutional judges and the head of the state court of auditors, for example, are elected by a two-thirds majority of all members of parliament. This means that certain posts could not have been filled without AfD approval. It could also have prevented the state parliament from dissolving itself.