Merkel bloc wins election but faces far-right challenge

BERLIN (AA) - Chancellor Angela Merkel’s bloc has won a fourth term in elections, but will face a far-right opposition in parliament, exit polls showed on Sunday.

Exit polls by public television stations ARD and ZDF put support for Merkel’s conservative bloc CDU/CSU at up to 33.5 percent, down 8 points from the last federal election in 2013.

Merkel’s major rival, Martin Schulz’s Social Democratic Party (SPD), suffered its biggest defeat since 1949, as exit polls showed the Social Democrats with 21 percent.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which adopted explicit anti-Islamic rhetoric during the election campaign, is set to enter the federal parliament for the first time.

In ARD's exit poll, the AfD was projected to reach 13.5 percent, up from 4.7 percent in federal elections in 2013, and easily crossing the 5 percent election threshold.