Initial results show German conservative Merz with clear election win

Friedrich Merz, chairman and candidate for Chancellor of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), speaks at the party's headquarters, the Konrad Adenauer House, after the forecast of the German federal election for the 21st Bundestag. Michael Kappeler/dpaMore
Projections based on initial German election results put opposition leader Friedrich Merz's centre-right CDU/CSU bloc with a clear lead of 28.7% to 29%, followed by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) at 19.6% to 19.8%, writes DPA.

The projections, released by public broadcasters ARD and ZDF, largely reflected the results of initial exit polls released just after voting ended across Germany at 6pm (1700 GMT).

The AfD's result is the far-right party's best-ever showing in a national election but falls slightly short of expectations after months of strong showings in opinion polls.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz's centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), who had been struggling in

the polls, were in third place with 16% to 16.4%. The Greens, Scholz's main coalition partner, were in fourth place with 12.3% to 13.3%, according to the projections.

The Left saw support jump in the election, according to the initial results, rising to 8.6% to 8.9%. That would be a major improvement from the most recent election in 2021, when hard-left party won only 4.9%.

The upstart populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) and the free-market liberal Free Democrats (FDP), meanwhile, were both right around the 5% hurdle needed to claim seats in Germany's Bundestag, the lower house of parliament.

The BSW was at 4.7% to 5%, according to the projections, while the FDP was at 4.9% to 5%.

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