Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany party has declared victory in Saxony-Anhalt after more than doubling its share of the vote in the first of several regional elections scheduled this fall.

According to preliminary final results, the AfD secured 43.8% of the vote — its strongest performance in any German state election. Despite the record result, the party fell just short of an absolute majority, leaving uncertainty over whether it will be able to form the next state government.

The centre-right Christian Democratic Union suffered heavy losses, falling to a historic low of 17.2%. The centre-left Social Democratic Party received 9.3%, followed by the Greens with 8.9% and the Left party, Die Linke, with 8.6%.

Germany’s mainstream parties have maintained a so-called “firewall” policy of refusing to enter governing coalitions with the AfD.

However, the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, or BSW, secured 5.3% of the vote, potentially giving it enough seats to form a parliamentary majority with the AfD. BSW has not ruled out cooperation, making its position potentially decisive in determining the next government.

AfD candidate for state premier Ulrich Siegmund described the election result as a message to Germany’s federal government in Berlin.

“This sends a very clear signal to Berlin: this is the end of the line; people don’t want to go on like this,” Siegmund told German public broadcaster ARD. “They want their good, old, secure Germany back.”

CDU candidate Sven Schulze acknowledged the AfD’s victory on Sunday evening. Although opinion polls had consistently placed the AfD comfortably ahead before the election, the CDU’s result was weaker than expected.

Attention will now turn to whether Schulze and other parties can assemble an alternative coalition to prevent the AfD from entering government.

Such an arrangement could prove difficult because it may require cooperation between the CDU and Die Linke. The conservatives have traditionally rejected working with the left-wing party.

The result marks a major shift in Saxony-Anhalt’s political landscape and is expected to intensify debate over the AfD’s growing electoral strength ahead of further regional contests and Germany’s next federal election.