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.

The centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) appear headed for a narrow election victory over the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the eastern German state of Brandenburg, according to initial projected results.

Sunday's vote followed a heated election campaign centred on the issues of migration, internal security and peace.