German elections: results announced

The bloc of Christian Democrats and Christian Social Unions, led by Friedrich Merz, won a landslide victory.

The Christian Democratic Union (CDU/CSU) won the snap election to the Bundestag. Votes were counted in all 299 constituencies, the Federal Election Commission announced on Monday night, February 24.

According to published data, the CDU/CSU won 28,5% of the vote.

Second place for the first time in its history was taken by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which doubled the number of votes compared to the 2021 elections and received 20,8%.

The Social Democratic Party of Germany, led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, came in third. It received 16,4% of the vote, a third less than in 2021. This is the worst result in the party's history for the Social Democrats.

The Greens and the Left Party are next, with 11,6% and 8,8% of voters, respectively.

Sarah Wagenknecht's Union for Reason and Justice and the Free Democratic Party of former Finance Minister Christian Lindner failed to overcome the 5% threshold and did not enter the Bundestag. They received 4,9% and 4,4% of the vote, respectively.

In the new parliament, the CDU/CSU will receive 208 seats, the AfD - 151, the SPD - 121, the Greens - 85, the Left Party - 64. Another seat will go to a non-party MP.

Although the Christian Democrats won more votes than the others, it will not be enough for a single majority in the Bundestag. The CDU will have to negotiate a coalition with other parties to form a government.