About 59 million Germans were eligible to vote in the early elections to decide which will governed the greatest economy in the euro zone.
Votes are now counted throughout Germany where around 59 million citizens were eligible to vote in the early elections to decide which will governed the greatest economy in the euro zone for the next four years.
The polls opened at 8 a.m. (07:00 GMT) and closed at 6 p.m. (5 p.m. GMT).
Here are the latest results of the Federal Return Officer, who oversees the elections:
When will we know the final results?
The first local constituencies began to report the results around 9:00 p.m. (8:00 p.m. GMT).
The overall result should quickly become clear with the official final results expected early on Monday.
Who are the main candidates and parties?
This year, 29 political parties participate in the elections, a decrease compared to the 47 which disputed in 2021.
The main parts are:
- CDU / CSU – The Christian Democratic Union is headed by Friedrich Merz, who is also the candidate of the Chancellor of the Bloc. The Christian social union, the Bavarian sister party of the CDU, is led by Markus Soder.
- AFD – The alternative for Germany is co-directed by Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla with Weidel as a candidate of AFD Chancellor.
- SPD -The Social Democratic Party is co-directed by Saskia Esken and Lars Klingbeil. Olaf Scholz is the party’s group candidate and is the outgoing chancellor.
- Alliance 90 / The Greens – It is Co-directed by Franziska Brantner and Felix Banaszak, and Robert Habeck is his Chancellor candidate and the current vice-chancellor.
- The left – The party is co-directed by Ines Schwdtner and Jan Van Aken with Heidi Reichinnek and Van Aken as Chancellor candidates.
- Bsw – The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance is led by Sahra Wagenknecht, who is also the candidate of the party group.
- Fdp – The Libre Democratic Party is led by Christian Lindner, who is also the main candidate for the party.
What are the latest polls indicate?
The conservative CDU leads the surveys with support of 30%. AFD on the far right is expected to win about 20% of the votes while the SPD, which led the previous coalition government, is in third place with support of 15%.
How does the vote work?
German citizens will vote twice: once for a local deputy and second for a party. A party must receive at least 5% of the national vote to enter the Bundestag, the elected chamber of the Bicameral Parliament.
The second vote is considered to be the most important and is most widely reported on the evening of the elections, because it determines the number of seats that a party will receive overall in the Bundestag and the force of a party within A coalition government of which it could be a part.
Whatever the party that secures most of the seats, will appoint a candidate as a chancellor, and the new Bundestag will vote. The candidate must obtain an absolute majority to be busy as a new head of the country.
The current distribution of Germany of seats
The Bundestag has a base of 598 seats, but it can extend, reaching 733 seats in 2021, the largest in its history. A reform of 2023 now limits it to 630 seats.
What are the main problems?
A slow economy, immigration and Ukraine war were the main problems of the campaign.
The surveys have suggested that many voters want to pay less taxes, but it will be difficult. Germany has been in recession for two years and its key industries are struggling to remain competitive.
Unemployment is more than 6% and debt braking, which limits government borrowing, also causes problems.
Who could be the next Chancellor of Germany?
A coalition government will probably be formed because no party has ever won an absolute majority. The only time a single parliamentary group obtained a majority was for parliamentary duration from 1957 to 1961 when the CDU / CSU won elections in Western Germany.
Whatever the party that secures the most votes will name a candidate as a chancellor, and the new Bundestag will vote on the person. The candidate must obtain an absolute majority to be sworn as a leader.
Here are the Chancellor’s candidates of the first four parties:
- Merz, 69, is the precursor, according to the polls. He became the head of the CDU after former Chancellor Angela Merkel resigned in 2021.
- Weidel46 years old, has co-directed anti-immigration AFD since 2017.
- Scholz66 years old, from the SPD has been chancellor since December 2021.
- Skillful55, is the candidate representing the Greens. He is the current vice-chancellor as well as the Minister of Economy and Climate.
