Merkel’s ally suffers defeat in Bavarian election

By Ayhan Simsek

BERLIN (AA) - Chancellor Angela Merkel's sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) suffered a heavy blow in regional elections in Bavaria on Sunday, according to exit polls posted by broadcaster ARD.

The CSU, which has governed Bavaria almost continuously since 1946, only managed to win 35.5 percent, a significant fall from the 47.7 percent the party scored in the last election in 2013.

It was the second-worst result of the Bavarian conservatives since the end of World War II, also showing that the CSU would lose a majority in the state parliament.

The Social Democratic Party (SPD) also suffered heavy losses on Sunday, drawing only 10 percent of the vote, less than half of its 20.6 percent showing five years ago.

Exit polls showed the far-right, Islamophobic Alternative for Germany (AfD) winning 11 percent of the vote, thereby entering the Bavarian parliament for the first time.