BERLIN, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt on Tuesday elected far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) lawmaker Tobias Rausch as its president, making him the first AfD member in Germany to hold such a post.
The newly elected state parliament convened its first session in Magdeburg, the state capital. Rausch, 35, received 48 votes in favor in the first round, while 29 lawmakers voted against him and five abstained.
The AfD won 43.8 percent of the vote in the state election last month, becoming the largest parliamentary group but falling short of an absolute majority.
The president of the state parliament chairs parliamentary sessions and represents the legislature externally. Since 1990, all previous presidents of the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament have come from either the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) or the Social Democratic Party (SPD).
According to German media reports, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the state parliament building on Tuesday to oppose Rausch taking office as president of the legislature. ■
