The alliance between Mrs. Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) secured 32.5 percent of the vote.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel was re-elected to a fourth term on Sunday, exit polls suggest.
The alliance between Mrs. Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) secured 32.5 percent of the vote.
The bloc’s rivals, the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), led by Martin Schulz, came in second with 20 percent, marking its worst electoral performance in the post-World War II era.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won a shocking 13.5 percent and will enter parliament for the first time in the party’s existence.
Mrs. Merkel, who has served as chancellor since 2005, will be tasked with forming a coalition government. Mr. Schulz has ruled out the possibility of his SPD joining the governing coalition.
German broadcaster ZDF reported that the CDU/CSU could form a coalition with the Green Party and the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP).
