According to preliminary results from the ARD and ZDF, the Union has emerged as the clear strongest force in the Bundestag election, with its coalition options still open. On average, CDU/CSU is expected to receive 28.8 percent of the vote, ahead of the AfD with 20.0 percent. The Union’s chancellor candidate, in a first reaction at the Konrad-Adenauer-Haus, stated that his party has clearly won the election. The focus now is on forming a functional government in Germany as quickly as possible, he said.
The SPD comes in third, with a historically weak result of 16.3 percent, while the Greens received an average of 12.7 percent and the Left Party a surprisingly strong 8.7 percent. The outcome for the FDP and BSW is still uncertain, with the FDP averaging 5.0 percent and the BSW 4.9 percent. In the ARD high-recount, both parties are below the five-percent threshold, while in the ZDF high-recount, they are above it. The Other parties collectively received an average of 3.9 percent of the vote.