German Chancellor Merz re-elected as party chairman
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was re-elected as chairman of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) at the party's regular congress in Stuttgart, receiving 91.17 percent of the 963 valid votes cast.
İHA
Following the afternoon sessions of the 38th congress of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the major partner in Germany's ruling coalition, currently underway in Stuttgart, delegates cast their votes for the party chairmanship.
Due to a malfunction in the electronic voting system, it was decided to conduct the election for the party chairman using paper ballots. The results of the election were announced in the evening due to the time required to set up voting booths in the congress hall and count the ballots.
The presiding board responsible for managing the congress announced that Friedrich Merz had been re-elected as chairman, receiving 91.17 percent of the votes cast.
Accordingly, 977 of the party's 1,001 registered delegates cast their votes in the election. With 963 votes deemed valid, Merz secured 878 votes against 85 votes against, once again becoming the chairman of the CDU. 14 delegates abstained. In a brief statement following his re-election, Merz thanked the delegates for their trust.
The 70-year-old Merz, who has been the leader of the CDU since 2022, received 89.8 percent of the votes at the 2024 congress.