The center-left Social Democrats (SPD) of Germany have narrowly won the country’s federal elections, defeating the party of outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel, according to preliminary results, IPN reports.
The SPD won 25.7% of the vote, while the ruling conservative CDU/CSU bloc won 24.1%. The Greens achieved the best result in their party’s history, coming in third with 14.8% of the ballot.
According to Euronews, an exit poll for ARD public television put voters’ support at 25% each for the Social Democrats and Merkel’s center-right bloc under the likely successor Armin Laschet.
Another exit poll for ZDF public television put the Social Democrats ahead by 26% to 24%. Both put the environmentalist Greens in third place with about 15% support.
The far-right AfD, which entered the Bundestag for the first time four years ago, is expected to confirm its parliamentary foothold with around 10% but remains excluded from any possible coalition. The Left will also enter Parliament.
The biggest number of parties since the reunification of Germany, 47, took part in the federal elections. A record number of candidates, 6,211 struggled for the seats in the Bundestag, including 2,024 female candidates.
