History made as AfD's first-ever state parliamentary speaker elected

A lawmaker from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) was elected parliamentary speaker in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt on Tuesday, marking a historic first for the far-right party. 

The AfD's candidate, Tobias Rausch, received a comfortable majority of votes in the newly constituted parliament in Magdeburg, one month after the party won a landslide victory in the closely watched state election.

He becomes the highest elected official in the AfD's 13-year history. The speaker chairs the parliament's sessions and represents it externally.

The result is a major boost for the Saxony-Anhalt AfD's lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund, who is hoping to become the party's first-ever state premier. 

The AfD's national co-leader Alice Weidel called the election a "great success" in a post on X, congratulating Rausch on the result. 

Despite winning almost 44% of the vote in September's election, the anti-immigrant AfD fell narrowly short of an absolute majority in the 83-seat Saxony-Anhalt parliament, earning 39 seats. 

Four parties that formally refuse any cooperation with the AfD - Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative Christian Democrats, The Left, the Greens and the Social Democrats - together hold 39 seats.

Meanwhile, the minor, pro-Russia BSW emerged from the election as a kingmaker, winning five seats. The populist party opposes the infamous "firewall" against working with the AfD and had promised to support Rausch's election as parliamentary speaker, although it remains unclear whether the BSW lawmakers will ultimately support Siegmund as state premier. 

Together, the AfD and BSW hold 44 seats in the state parliament, with 42 needed for a majority. However, Rausch earned 48 votes, suggesting at least four lawmakers from other parties backed the 35-year-old, while five others abstained instead of voting against him.

A similar result for Siegmund - who has pledged to put himself forward for election as premier in December - would allow the AfD to form its first-ever state government. 

Despite the tense relations between the parties, Rausch said he would lead the office in a non-partisan manner. "I will not hold this office as the president of a parliamentary group, but as the president of the entire state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt," Rausch said following his election.

Having been in opposition himself, he said he had experienced first-hand how controversial parliamentary rules and procedures could be. "But I do not wish to use this as an opportunity to settle scores with the past," he said.

"The days of political firewalls should be a thing of the past," Rausch added. 

Protesters gathered outside the parliament ahead of the historic vote on Tuesday, with many following the session via a livestream on their mobile phones and booing when the election result was announced. Police said the number of demonstrators peaked at around 350.