AfD mobilizes non-voters, Die Linke largest among young voters, highest turnout since German reunification

The radical right-wing Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) was able to mobilize the most voters of all parties in the German federal elections who did not vote in the previous elections in 2021. This is evident from figures from the German research institute Infratest dimap . Of the 3.7 million eligible Germans who did not vote in 2021, 1.8 million voted for the AfD on Sunday. The gain among former non-voters accounts for 18 percent of the more than 10 million votes cast in total for the party of AfD leader Alice Weidel. The AfD has become the largest in all states located in the former GDR, with the exception of Berlin.

In Berlin, Die Linke, another winner of the elections, became the largest. The party received almost twice as many votes as in the previous Bundestag elections. Die Linke scores particularly well among young voters; in the age group 18-24, the party is the largest with 25 percent of the votes. Die Linke has mainly taken over voters from the left-wing government parties SPD and De Groenen.

According to Infratest dimap, election winner CDU/CSU managed to attract 900,000 former non-voters, in total around 14 million Germans voted for the Christian Democrats. The growth of Friedrich Merz's party is mainly due to the 3.5 million voters who switched from the coalition parties SPD, FDP and The Greens.

In the Bundestag elections, 82.5 percent of eligible voters went to the polls. That is the highest turnout since the reunification of West and East Germany in 1990. In the former GDR, turnout is usually lower than in the former West Germany. That was also the case on Sunday, although turnout also rose in the east of the country.