The Social Democrats of Chancellor Olaf Scholz have won an election in the eastern German state of Brandenburg. They gained a narrow edge over a growing far-right party.

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.

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