INFOGRAPHIC - Rise of Germany's far-right AfD

By Erbil Basay

BERLIN (AA) - Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has won seats in nine state elections over the last two years.

The rise of the AfD, which on Sunday beat Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union in her home state, is expected to be reflected in next year’s general election.

April 2013: AfD founded

May 2014: Wins 7 percent of vote in European election

August 2014: Enters Saxony state parliament, gaining 9.7 percent of vote in region

September 2014: Enters Brandenburg state parliament with 12.2 percent; wins seats in Thuringia state parliament by gathering 10.7 percent of vote

February 2015: Gains seats in Hamburg state parliament with 6.1 percent

May 2015: Joins Bremen state parliament through 5.5 percent of ballots

September 2015: Germany opens doors to refugees, AfD toughens rhetoric on refugee issue

March 2016: In regional elections in Saxony-Anhalt, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Palatinate-Rhine, AfD receives 24.3 percent, 15.1 percent, 12.1 percent of vote respectively

September 2016: Party gets 20.8 percent of vote in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Recent polls show national support for AfD exceeding 10 percent, meaning the party is likely to enter federal parliament in next year’s general election, having narrowly missed the 5 percent threshold in 2013.

The party is likely to be helped by growing anti-refugee and anti-Muslim sentiment, triggered by far-right, populist parties that have exploited the refugee crisis and fears of religious extremism and terrorism.

Germany, Europe's largest economy, accepted more than a million refugees last year, mostly Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans.