Initial projected election results in the eastern German state of Saxony show a neck - and - neck race between the centre - right Christian Democrats ( CDU ) and the far - right Alternative for Germany ( AfD ). The forecasts from public broadcasters ARD and ZDF , which are based on initial election results as well as exit polls , gave incumbent Saxon state Premier Michael Kretschmer ' s CDU only a very narrow edge over the AfD . The broadcasters released the projects about an hour after voting ended at 6 pm ( 1600 GMT ) on Sunday . The CDU is projected to get 31 . 6 % to 31 . 7 %, while the AfD is forecast slightly behind with between 30 . 4 % and 31 . 4 %. The upstart populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance ( BSW ) was projected to finish in third place with 11 . 4 % to 12 . 0 % of the vote . The centre - left Social Democrats ( SPD ), who are currently the junior partner in a coalition with Kretschmer ' s CDU , are forecast to finish fourth with 7 . 8 % to 8 . 2 % of the vote . The Greens are forecast to collect 5 . 3 % to 5 . 5 %, barely over the 5 % threshold required to receive seats in German elections . The hard - left Die Linke ( The Left ) is forecast to fall short of the 5 % mark with just 4 . 0 % to 4 . 3 %, while the pro - business liberal Free Democrats ( FDP ) appeared to score so poorly that they are not included in the projections . dpa sk tre vrb xxde bst eraSource: The Namibia News Agency