With 33 percent of the votes, Angela Merkel’s CDU/CSU alliance won a plurality in the German parliamentary elections. However, results showed record-low support for Germany’s major parties, while the anti-immigrant AfD placed third and got its first MPs.
READ MORE: Who’s who: Federal election kicks off in Germany
25 September 2017
The ‘Jamaica coalition’ – a combination of the CDU, the Free Democrats (FDP), and the Greens – option has been ruled out by one of the parties. The deal between the three parties was seen as promising, as SDP leader Martin Shultz had earlier vowed to join the opposition.
The deputy leader of the liberal FDP said, however, that they would not agree to a deal with Merkel.
“It is not up to us to form a ‘Jamaica coalition’ at any price,” deputy party leader Wolfgang Kubicki told journalists on Monday, as cited by Reuters.
AfD Co-chair Frauke Petry said during a press conference that “after lengthy consideration” she won’t be joining her party’s contingent in the new parliament. According to preliminary official results, the AfD will enter the Bundestag for the first time in the party’s history.
Petry’s announcement caught the AfD’s leading candidates Aleksander Gauland and Alice Weidel, by surprise, along with Co-chair Jörg Meuthen, all of whom were present at the press conference. Meuthen described it as a “bombshell,” saying he “had no knowledge.”
Having won a direct mandate in her Saxony constituency, Frauke said she would still serve as an MP.
The newly elected German parliament will see a significant expansion, from 631 seats in 2013 to 709 in the next legislature, according to the estimates published by the official electoral authority. Merkel’s CDU (Christian Democratic Union) will keep 200 seats, 55 fewer than it had previously. Its Bavarian ally, the CSU (Christian Social Union), lost 10 seats, taking 46.
The centrist SPD (Social Democratic Party) has also lost ground and will take 153 seats, as opposed to 193 in the outgoing legislature. The right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) is entering parliament for the first time with 94 deputies, while the FDP is making its return with 80.
A total of 69 seats went to The Left party, and 67 to Alliance 90/The Greens party.
Contrasting scenes of protests and celebrations related to the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party’s election performance have been filmed by RT’s Ruptly agency.
At AfD’s Berlin headquarters, AfD member and MEP Beatrix von Storch proclaimed “no less than a political revolution” that she said the party and its supporters had started.
But AfD’s election party in Berlin was also surrounded by a crowd of protesters, who shouted anti-nationalist and pro-refugee slogans for hours, even after the party members were reportedly led away with the assistance of police.
Meanwhile, in Cologne, several hundred anti-fascist protesters marched through the streets to protest the AfD’s anti-immigrant policies. Similar rallies took place in Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich and Düsseldorf.
With a 33 percent combined vote, the alliance of Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Social Christian Union (CSU), won a plurality of the votes in the German parliamentary elections, the federal election authority announced.
However, for both the CDU/CSU and their closest rival, the Social Democratic Party (SPD), which gained 20.5 percent of the vote, the results were the worst in over 60 years.
Coming in third and entering the Bundestag for the first time is the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which secured 12.6 percent of the vote, according to the final results.
The Liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) placed fourth with 10.07 percent of vote, which allowed it to reenter parliament after a disastrous result in 2013, when it failed to pass the 5 percent threshold.
With ballots in 297 out of 299 constituencies counted, one of the surprises of the night was the preliminary lead of the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in the state of Saxony. The far-right AfD narrowly beat Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in its share of proportional second votes, regarded as more important for the distribution of seats in Bundestag. The AfD received 27 percent against the CDU’s 26.9 percent, the Federal Returning Officer reports.
24 September 2017
Sahra Wagenknecht, the leader of the Left Party, blamed Angela Merkel’s CDU and the Social Democrats for the success of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) but also praised her own party for what she called the second-best election result.
The Greens’ co-chair, Cem Ozdemir, ruled out any potential coalition with Angela Merkel’s CDU and the Free Democrats by saying that his party would not take part in what he called "anti-European populism." At the same time, the second party co-chair, Katrin Goering-Eckardt, did not rule out a coalition as she said that the party leadership will “see if there can be cooperation."
The co-chair of the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany, Alexander Gauland, vowed to “chase” the future German government and “take back our country and our people,” adding that the government should be preparing for “tough times.”
The right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party secured as many as 21.6 percent of votes in regions in the former East Germany, thus becoming the second most popular political force there after only Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats, German public broadcaster ARD reports, citing exit polls.
The leader of the Free Democrats, Christian Lindner, criticized the Social Democrats for what he called “a unilateral retreat into the opposition” and called on them to “take responsibility.” He also said that his party was open to any coalition talks, adding that it would not allow itself to be “pushed into a coalition” just “because the SPD bows out.”
The head of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Martin Schulz, said he would not focus on “renewal of the party,” adding that someone else would lead his party’s faction in the parliament. He also said that the SPD could not allow an “extreme right-wing party” to lead the opposition in Germany, adding that his party had decided to “go into opposition” and not to join any ruling coalition. His words were echoed by the party’s deputy chair, Manuela Schwesig, who also said that “it's clear that we'll go into opposition as demanded by voters.”
The leader of the Social Democrats, Martin Schulz, admitted that the decision to take in more than 1 million refugees made by the German authorities in 2015 “is still dividing in our country.” “We did not manage to persuade all of our voters that Germany is strong enough not to leave anyone behind," he said.
The German Interior Minister and a senior member of Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, Thomas de Maiziere, said that his party now has a “responsibility to the country” to form a government. A failure to do that would “be the worst signal,” he added, warning that the AfD and the Left Party could get even more votes in early elections that would follow in that case.
Horst Seehofer, the leader of Angela Merkel’s Bavarian allies, the Christian Social Union, said following the publication of the exit poll results that his party would not “enter into any false compromises that would cement the division of our country,” referring to potential coalition options. He then particularly ruled out any coalition with the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Left Party (Die Linke).
Angela Merkel said that her party has two coalition options under the current circumstances, including one with the Social Democrats. However, she give no details about any other options.
Angela Merkel admitted that she “hoped for a slightly better result” in the elections during her speech following the publication of the exit poll results. At the same time, she said her party still reached “the strategic goals” of the election campaign, adding that she is “happy” about that.
Asked about the possibility of a minority government, Angela Merkel avoided directly answering the question, saying instead that she intends to form a “stable” government for Germany.
During a TV debate that followed the publication of the exit polls, the leader of the Social Democrats, Martin Schulz, told Angela Merkel that she was still "the biggest loser" of the elections, apparently referring to the fact that Merkel's CDU lost more votes than even the SPD, even though the Christian Democrats still emerged as winners.
Hundreds of antifascist activists gathered outside the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party HQ in Berlin to protest its electoral night event, as well as the party’s expected entrance into parliament. People have been protesting for several hours already. They are chanting, “Nazis out!” and “All of Berlin hates Nazis!” Police forces in riot gear were deployed to the area.
Angela Merkel has pledged to win back voters from the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in her speech following the publication of the exit poll results.
The vote has turned out to be successful for the German Free Democrats, as they gained more than 10 percent in the current elections after failing to clear the 5 percent threshold in the previous vote.
The right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has secured seats in parliament for the first time in a federal election. The party, which failed to enter the legislative body in 2013, has now received the backing of some 13 percent of voters.
The Social Democrats (SPD) suffered a crushing defeat at the elections, the preliminary forecasts show, receiving the support of only 20 percent of voters – their lowest result in 20 years.
Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is leading the polls as it has gained between 32 and 34 percent of the votes, according to preliminary forecasts. However, the party lost some 8 percent of the vote in comparison to the previous election results.
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel voted together with his wife in the German town of Goslar in the German state of Lower Saxony.
Voter turnout for the German federal election reached 41 percent by 12:00pm GMT, according to the authorities.
When asked about outside interference in the election, amid allegations of Russian interference in the US elections, voters were divided.
"Until now I haven’t see any sign of it, so we’ll see what happens tomorrow night. But I don’t think so. But you never know,” one passerby said.
Others were more skeptical, "I think so, yes. But I hope it was not possible to have any effect on the election. But I think, and I’m very sure that they have tried it, yes."
Merkel has cast her vote together with her husband, Joachim Sauer, at a polling station in the Berlin Mitte district.
If you’re confused by Germany’s complex electoral system, make sure to check out our handy explainer of how the process works and the potential composition of the next government.
READ MORE: German electoral system oddities: What you need to know about it
Turnout is also strong in Hamburg with more than 37 percent of citizens going to the polls. This represents a 1.5 percent uptick on the last election.
The Central Election Commission is expected to publish detailed turnout figures at 15.30 Central European time.
Early indications also point to a strong turnout in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state.
By midday, around 40 percent of the electorate had cast their ballot, a three percent increase on 2013.
Turnout in Bavaria’s biggest cities is already showing a marked increase on the last election in 2013.
In terms of the percentage breakdown, Munich is up nearly 1.5, while in Nuremberg it has risen by around 1, with over 12 percent of the electorate already casting their vote, according to German magazine Focus.
Around 9.5 million people in Bavaria are registered to vote, making up 15 percent of the entire German electorate. It’s a key state in the election boasting the second highest number of voters, behind North Rhine-Westphalia.
German President and member of the Social Democratic Party Frank-Walter Steinmeier has cast his vote in the Zehlendorf district in Berlin.
Polls have opened across Germany and people have started casting their votes.
Social Democratic Party candidate Martin Schulz has returned to German political life with a bang, but it may not be enough to stop Merkel’s winning streak. RT takes a closer look at the former European Parliament President.
The time for campaigning has expired, but a variety of political posters still adorn Berlin’s streets. RT reviews the worst and best of them.
Chancellor Angela Merkel is projected to continue her reign as the longest-serving leader in Western Europe. If she stays in power for the entire term, she will match Helmut Kohl’s record of 16 years. But does she have the election in the bag?
A total of 42 parties are taking part in the elections, as well as a number of independent candidates. However, only a few parties are believed to have realistic chances to reach the minimum 5 percent threshold to secure at least one seat. These are the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), led by incumbent Chancellor Angela Merkel; its right-wing Bavarian alliance partner, the Christian Social Union (CSU), with its top candidate Joachim Hermann; the CDU’s main rival, the centrist Social Democratic Party (SPD), with Martin Schulz as its chair; the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), co-chaired by Alexander Gauland and Alice Weidel; the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) led by Christian Lindner; the pro-ecology Alliance 90/The Greens, steered into the elections by Katrin Göring-Eckardt and Cem Özdemir; and The Left Party (Die Linke) with top candidates Dietmar Bartsch und Sahra Wagenknecht.
Watch a clip from RT's special coverage on the German elections.
German polling stations are set to open at 8am (6am GMT). Voters can cast their ballots until 6pm (4pm GMT). Over 60 million people are eligible to vote in the elections, which will decide the composition of the German Parliament, the Bundestag, for the next four years.