A state election is taking place in Brandenburg on Sunday, three weeks after a far-right party made gains in two other states in eastern Germany.

Brandenburg is a longstanding stronghold for the party. But it is located in Germany’s relatively impoverished east, where the anti-immigrant A f D performs far better than in the west. That made this election a test of whether the SPD could beat the populists on its home ground.

An exit poll released after voting ended in a state election in Brandenburg, Germany on Sunday showed the Social Democrats with a slight edge over a growing right-wing party. The voting took place three weeks after the party made gains in two other states in eastern Germany.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD) managed to fend off the far-right AfD in a state election in Brandenburg on Sunday after trailing behind the party throughout the campaign, according to exit polls.

Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats held off the far-right Alternative for Germany and look set to cling on to power in the eastern state of Brandenburg, sparing the chancellor and his party another embarrassing electoral setback.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD) looked set to fend off the far right in a state election in Brandenburg on Sunday after trailing behind the Alternative for Germany (AfD) throughout the campaign,