Germany's anti-migration party finishes third in municipal vote

Germany's anti-migration party, the Alternative for Germany (AfD), bagged third place in municipal elections in the central German state of Hesse, preliminary results showed on Monday.

The AfD won 13.2 percent of the vote in Hesse on Sunday, closely beating the Green Party (11.6 percent) for the third position, according to the provisional results. In some municipalities, the AfD claimed more than 20 percent of voter support.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) narrowly claimed the most votes (28.2 percent), just ahead of the Social Democrats (SPD) with 28 percent.

The significant electoral gains of the AfD was described as "very regrettable" by Thorsten Schaefer-Guembel, SPD leader in Hesse. Politicians from the CDU and the SPD have also expressed their concerns with a view to the three upcoming state elections in Germany.

Hesse's election serves as a warm-up for three more important votes for state parliament positions in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday.

The AfD has gained support over the past months and looked on course to break into all three legislatures. A latest poll for German broadcaster ARD showed support for the party in Saxony-Anhalt at 19 percent, a result that would make it the third strongest party there after Merkel's CDU and the Left Party. In Baden Wuerttemberg, the AfD polled at 13 percent, with nine percent support projected in Rhineland-Palatinate.

Under German electoral law, winning five percent or more of the popular vote guarantees parliamentary representation.

The AfD, which formed in February 2013, has clearly positioned itself against Merkel's refugee and asylum policy.

"First of all, we need to work towards controlling the borders and deporting a lot of people who are in Germany without having the right to be here," party leader Frauke Petry told media during the campaign trail in Saxony-Anhalt.

These sentiments play well with some people in Germany who fear they are being inundated by foreigners after 1.1 million people applied for asylum in the country last year.

Source: Xinhua