Germany's far-right AfD says 'democracy demands' parties work with them after state election win

ByJessica Parker, Berlin correspondent and Amy Walker.

Key points

• In Saxony-Anhalt, the CDU won 17.2% of the vote, according to preliminary results.
• Sunday's preliminary results show it fell three seats short of an outright majority, with 43.8% of the vote.
• No far-right party has controlled a German state since World War Two, and governing at state level would mean powers over policing and local education.
• Her comments were echoed by AfD's leader in Saxony-Anhalt, Ulrich Siegmund.
• Von Storch remarked if parties refused to work with the AfD, "then we might end up in severe chaos and maybe we have a new election".

After a historic victory in elections for the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is "very, very close" to taking power, its deputy parliamentary leader has informed the BBC.

Sunday's preliminary results show it fell three seats short of an outright majority, with 43.8% of the vote. It is now seeking backing from other parties or individuals so as to govern.

While most German political parties refuse to work with the AfD, Beatrix von Storch pressed its opponents to enter negotiations and noted: "You cannot say I do not accept the vote of the people".

Her comments were echoed by AfD's leader in Saxony-Anhalt, Ulrich Siegmund. This person informed a news conference on Monday that the party had won a "clear mandate to govern".

Saxony-Anhalt has a small population of 2.1 million and the AfD in the state is assessed by domestic intelligence as "right-wing extremist", a classification rejected by Siegmund, 35.

Siegmund remarked discussions with other parties were initiated on Sunday night and could potentially take days or weeks to conclude.

"We reach out to everybody first, we will have consultations and then we'll see whether individual parliamentary groups or MPs who would be willing to help us, " he continued.

Although the result has not yet been finalised, the AfD is at present heading for 39 seats in the 83-seat state parliament instead of the 42 needed for an outright majority.

Von Storch informed the BBC the AfD was talking to individuals within the conservative CDU group – the largest party in both the state's outgoing coalition and Germany's administration – since they were "very, very unhappy with their own party".

In short, germany' s far-right AfD says ' democracy demands' parties work with them after state is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.