By Efe Ozkan
ISTANBUL (AA) - Germany’s conservative alliance comprising the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU) have won the country’s parliamentary elections with 28.6% of the vote, according to official provisional results announced Monday by the Electoral Commission.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party came in second with 20.8%, up 10.4 percentage points from the previous election.
The Social Democratic Party (SPD) ranked third with 16.4% and the Green Party fourth with 11.6%.
The Left Party garnered 8.8%, up 3.9 percentage points compared to the previous election.
The Free Democratic Party (FDP) remained below the 5% threshold with 4.3% of the vote.
The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), which participated in the general elections for the first time, narrowly missed the threshold with 4.9% of the vote.
-Distribution of seats in Bundestag
According to the results, the CDU/CSU has 208 seats in the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament, the AfD 152, the SPD 120, the Greens 85 and the Left Party 62.
In order to achieve a majority in the Bundestag, at least 316 deputies are required, which means that no party can come to power alone.
Friedrich Merz's Christian Democrats can secure a parliamentary majority through a potential coalition with the Social Democrats, with the combined parties holding 328 seats in parliament.
Another viable option would be a three-way coalition including the Greens party, which would command 413 seats.