BERLIN, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- Germany's far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) made big gains on Sunday in state elections in Brandenburg and Saxony, according to initial results published by local media ARD.
AfD won 22.5 percent of the votes in Brandenburg and 27.5 percent in Saxony, a sharp increase from 12.2 percent and 9.7 percent respectively in the two states five years ago.
During the election campaign, AfD has manipulated voters' anger over refugee issues and the planned closure of the coal mines which might threaten the livelihood of the pitmen in the two states.
The populist party is now by no means only popular in the eastern region. It has taken seats in every state parliament and is the third largest party, also the main opposition party, in the German federal parliament Bundestag.
Both Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) slided in the elections compared with the 2014 results, despite the fact that SPD maintained its leading position in Brandenburg with 27.5 percent of the votes while CDU stood fast at the top in Saxony with 32 percent, according to the exit poll. Enditem
