Far-right victory in Germany: Votes doubled

According to the first exit polls in Germany's general election, the Christian Union (CDU/CSU) parties finished first with 29 percent of the vote.

Voting in the early general elections, where approximately 59.2 million voters were eligible to cast ballots, ended at 18:00 local time.

CDU/CSU RECEIVED 29 PERCENT OF THE VOTE

According to the first exit poll published by the German public broadcaster ARD, the Christian Union (CDU/CSU) parties, which nominated Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Chairman Friedrich Merz as their candidate for chancellor, received 29 percent of the vote.

The vote share of the CDU/CSU, consisting of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its sister party organized in the state of Bavaria, the Christian Social Union (CSU), increased by 4.9 percentage points compared to the 2021 elections.

ELON MUSK-BACKED AFD DOUBLES ITS VOTE

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party increased its vote share by 9.1 percentage points compared to the previous election, coming in second with 19.5 percent.

The AfD was also supported by billionaire businessman Elon Musk, who serves as a senior advisor to US President Donald Trump.

SHARP DECLINE FOR SCHOLZ'S PARTY

The vote share of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), which nominated incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz for another term, fell by 9.7 percentage points compared to the previous election. The SPD is in third place with 16 percent of the vote.

If this rate remains, the SPD will have received its lowest vote share in general elections held since World War II.

GREENS FELL, THE LEFT PARTY ROSE

The Green Party's vote share also fell by 1.2 percentage points compared to the 2021 elections, dropping to 13.5 percent.

The Left Party, which ran a successful election campaign, saw its votes increase by 4.7 percentage points compared to the previous election. The Left Party, which is considered certain to enter parliament, received 8.5 percent of the vote according to the exit poll.

FDP MAY REMAIN OUTSIDE PARLIAMENT

The Free Democratic Party (FDP), which left the government and caused the country to head to early general elections, suffered major losses alongside the SPD in these elections.

The FDP's vote share, which fell by 6.5 percentage points compared to the 2021 elections, is seen at 4.9 percent in the first exit poll. In a country where the election threshold is 5 percent, if the results are finalized this way, the FDP will remain outside parliament by a narrow margin.

The "Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance – For Reason and Justice" (BSW) party, which participated in general elections for the first time, also received 4.7 percent of the vote.

Whether the FDP and BSW will pass the 5 percent election threshold is a matter of curiosity.

SEAT DISTRIBUTION

According to the first exit poll, the seat distribution in the German Bundestag is as follows:

CDU/CSU 211, AfD 142, SPD 116, Greens 98, The Left Party 62.

In addition, the South Schleswig Voters' Association (SSW), founded by the Danish minority and exempted from the election threshold by a special regulation, will also be represented in parliament with 1 seat.

On the other hand, it was reported that the voter turnout reached 84 percent, the highest level since 1990.

According to these results, no party can form a government alone.

MERZ DECLARED VICTORY

Following the completion of the election, a statement from Merz's party, the CDU, said: "Thank you for your trust, thank you for your support! The voters in Germany have given us a clear mandate: to take responsibility for our country and to lead the next federal government. This trust is both an incentive and a burden for us. We know that there are great tasks ahead of us, and we are undertaking them with humility, determination, and all our strength. Together with you, we want to realize political change for Germany and move our country forward!"

AFD: WE ARE OPEN TO COALITION TALKS WITH THE CDU

Alice Weidel, the chancellor candidate for the AfD, which almost doubled its votes compared to the previous election according to exit polls, said in her first statement: "It is a historic success for us, the best result we have ever achieved. We have doubled our vote. We want to make policy for our country. We are open to coalition talks with the CDU. In this regard, the CDU must also accept this. Otherwise, no political change is possible in Germany."