According to the current estimates of the election results, the CDU/CSU is convincingly in first place, the AfD is in second place, and the SPD is in third place. The Greens and the Left are also entering the Bundestag. The BSW is on the verge of 4,9 or 5 percent. The FDP - below the threshold.
ZDF forecast from 20:58 p.m.
- CDU/CSU 28,6 percent
- AfD 20,4 percent
- SPD 16,5 percent
- Greens 12,1 percent
- The Left 8,7 percent
- BSW 4,9 to 5 odst
- FDP 4,7odsto
For the co-chairman of the Left Party, Jan van Aken, participating in the government is completely out of the question.
"We are going into opposition, in the Bundestag and on the streets," said van Aken.
He added that the Left wants to make it more difficult for Friedrich Merz to carry out "his attack on the welfare state."
The Left Party achieved great success, winning 8,6% (ARD) or 8,7% (ZDF), which would be 63 seats in the Bundestag.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated in the debate of the leading party candidates that he had run for the position of federal chancellor, but that he would not be part of the future federal government as a representative of the SPD, nor would he negotiate about it.
Scholz said he did not want to be part of a government led by the Union, nor to participate in coalition negotiations.
"If there are talks, for example between the SPD and the Union, I will not be a negotiator on behalf of the SPD," Scholz said in a debate on ARD and ZDF.
He added that he had run for chancellor, "but I will not be the SPD's representative in a CDU-led government, nor will I negotiate about it."
Senior SPD politicians, after the election debacle, announced a personnel reorganization.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (61) has said he wants to take a leading role in negotiations on a new government.
The Greens, according to their candidate for chancellor Robert Habek, are ready for a so-called "Kenya coalition" with the CDU/CSU Union and the SPD.
"Of course we are ready for that," Habek told ZDF. "We are always ready to take responsibility."
However, the decision on whether the Greens will be included in forming a government lies with the Union's candidate for chancellor, Friedrich Merz.
"Honestly, I don't expect that to happen," Habek added.
He recalled that the CSU has repeatedly rejected the possibility of cooperation with the Greens.
"I don't believe Merc will be able to counter that."
Habek pointed out the difference in the Union's results - while the CSU achieved a strong result, the CDU was not as successful.
"From a distance, it seems to me that the power relations within the Union will change significantly to the detriment of Merc."
(Deutsche Welle)
According to projections, the AfD has become the second strongest political force in Germany, right behind the Union. However, no party wants to form a government with it.
"Voters gave us a very clear mandate," said party co-president Tino Krupala.
He emphasized that the AfD continues to extend a hand to the Union.
"I think that when you become the second strongest political force, a lot of things - including media treatment - have to change in Germany," said Krupala, commenting on the Union's refusal to enter a coalition with his party.
(Deutsche Welle)
German conservatives will do everything they can to form a government capable of taking action as soon as possible, said candidate for chancellor Friedrich Merz.
"We will celebrate tonight and start working tomorrow," said Merz in his first reaction in Berlin, surrounded by supporters.
"The world outside is not waiting for us," he added.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz conceded defeat and congratulated his conservative challenger Friedrich Merz.
"This is a bitter election result for the Social Democratic Party, it is also an electoral defeat," said Scholz in his first reaction.
"Congratulations on the election result," he said, congratulating Merco.
AfD co-chair Tino Krupala said he was "very proud of the party".
"We were united, our campaign was targeted and we were disciplined," he said, standing next to co-chair Alice Weidel.
"We can truly bring about epochal change," he said, adding, "We are always open to negotiations."
"We have gained the trust of the voters and that should be something that everyone else would accept," he adds.
Other parties were adamant that they would not form a coalition with the AfD.
However, Krupala says his party has been "given a mandate to bring about political change."
According to the first results of the exit polls, the CDU/CSU is convincingly in first place, the AfD in second place, and the SPD in third place. The Greens and the Left are also entering the Bundestag. The Liberals and the BSW are currently below the threshold.
Exit polls according to public broadcaster ARD show the following results:
- SPD 16 percent
- CDU/CSU 29 percent
- Greens 13,5 percent
- The Left 8,5 percent
- AfD 19,5 percent
- FDP 4,9 odsto
- BSW 4,7 odsto
The turnout is 84 percent.
(Deutsche Welle)
Germany's opposition conservatives have won national elections, putting their leader Friedrich Merz in position to be the next chancellor, while the far-right Alternative for Germany came in second place, its best result ever, exit polls showed.
After a campaign roiled by a series of violent attacks and interventions by the administration of US President Donald Trump, the conservative CDU/CSU bloc won 28,5 percent of the vote, followed by the AfD with 20 percent, an exit poll published by public broadcaster ZDF showed.
Merz, 69, has no previous government experience, but has promised to provide greater leadership than Chancellor Olaf Scholz and to connect more with key allies, returning Germany to the heart of Europe.
Scholz's center-left SPD won 16,5 percent of the vote, its worst result ever, the projection showed.
So far, there are signs almost everywhere that voter turnout is higher than in previous Bundestag elections, Deutsche Welle reports.
In Lower Saxony, around 12 percent of voters had taken part in the elections by 30:42,9 p.m., the state election commission said. In the 2021 elections, turnout at that time was 36,6 percent.
By noon, slightly more people had voted in Saxony. According to the state election official, Martin Richter, voter turnout by 12 noon was 27,1 percent. In the previous Bundestag elections, it was 25,9 percent.
The Bavarian cities of Munich, Augsburg and Nuremberg also recorded increased turnout by noon compared to 2021.
Election commissions state that they did not record any problems or incidents during voting.
"For now, everything is going normally," is the message from Munich.
The chairman of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) at the federal level, Tino Krupala, voted at a polling station in Gablenz, in eastern Saxony, Deutsche Welle reports.
He expressed confidence that his party would achieve "a very strong result with over 20 percent."
"Especially in eastern Germany, the AfD will win many direct mandates. I think that is a clear political message from citizens and voters," Krupala said.
AfD co-chair and the party's candidate for chancellor, Alice Weidel, voted by mail.
Deutsche Welle reports that the first official turnout figures at the federal level are expected to be announced around 15:30 p.m.
German conservative candidate for chancellor and leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Friedrich Merz voted in Arnsberg.
Deutsche Welle reports that he voted with his wife, Charlotte Merz.
"It'll be fine," he said immediately after the vote.
Deutsche Welle reports that according to polls, Merz's Christian Democrats have around 30 percent support, making them the favorite in the elections, and Merz the most likely candidate for the future Chancellor of Germany.
Current Chancellor Olaf Scholz voted in Potsdam.
Deutsche Welle reports that he voted, accompanied by his wife Brita Ernst.
As he left the polling station, Šolc gave a thumbs up.
Despite a slight deterioration in the polls immediately before the elections, the leader of the Christian Social Union (CSU) and Prime Minister of Bavaria, Markus Söder, expressed optimism about the good result of his Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU), Deutsche Welle reports.
"Yes, I am very confident. I hope that in the end we will get a government for our country so that something really changes and that we do not continue as before," he said after voting in Nuremberg.
When asked by reporters about possible options for a two-party coalition, Zeder did not want to answer in detail, saying only: "Everything is open, now we will see."
The Christian Democrats would primarily like a coalition with just one other party, i.e. without a third partner, and Zeder says today: "That would be great, but it's unlikely."
During the election campaign, Zeder repeatedly rejected the possibility of a coalition with the Greens.
According to public opinion polls, the Christian Democrats have by far the most support, but some polls have recently shown that their support has fallen below the important threshold of 30 percent.
Coalitions with the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) or the Greens would be conceivable, but depending on the outcome of the election, they would still have to find a third partner to form a government.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was among the first to vote this morning and said:
"Exercise your right to vote, help determine the future of our country and vote knowing that your vote could be decisive," Steinmeier said, according to Deutsche Welle.
The German president performed his civic duty at a polling station at the "Erich Kestner" elementary school in Berlin.
Polls opened in Germany today for the election of 630 members of the new Bundestag, and the latest polls show that no party will have enough members to form a government on its own.
Surveys show that the opposition Christian Democrats and the far-right, also opposition Alternative for Germany (AfD) have the greatest support from voters, while the Social Democratic Party of current Chancellor Olaf Scholz is in third place.
Four candidates are vying for the new German leader: current Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Friedrich Merz, the candidate of the main conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), current Vice Chancellor Robert Habek of the environmental Green party, and Alice Weidel of the far-right, anti-immigrant AfD.
The German electoral system rarely gives any one party an absolute majority, and polls suggest that no party is close to achieving that this time, and it will likely take two or more parties to form a post-election coalition.
The elections are taking place at a time when Germany, like the rest of Europe, is facing the new administration of United States President (US) Donald Trump, the Russia-Ukraine war, and numerous security issues across the Old Continent.
Polls are open from 18 a.m. to XNUMX p.m., and Germans can also vote by mail.
Exit polls will be released immediately after voting closes, and vote counting will begin immediately. Results will be announced very soon, with final results expected early Monday morning.
There are 59,2 million eligible voters in the country, as well as more than three million German citizens abroad, for whom this year's voting will be more problematic than usual due to the short deadlines.
There are 29 parties on the ballot, but it is expected that between five and eight of them will manage to cross the five percent electoral threshold.
The elections are being held seven months earlier than scheduled after the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's three-party coalition in early November last year.
(Beta)
Polls in Germany opened at eight o'clock, Deutsche Welle reports.
The media outlet states that traditionally, the outcome is known five minutes after the polls close at 18 p.m., when public broadcasters ARD and ZDF each release their own exit polls. These polls are usually very accurate.
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