German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has conceded defeat in his country's national election, as exit polls showed heavy losses for his party. Scholz told supporters that "this is a bitter election result" for his center-left Social Democrats and "this is an electoral defeat."
Chancellor Olaf Scholz's party has suffered a crushing defeat in the elections held in Germany on Sunday. According to the latest trends, the conservative party of opposition leader Friedrich Merz is moving towards victory. If Merz's party wins, it will be the first time in the history of Germany after World War II that a right-wing party will return to power. Elections for the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament in Germany, were earlier scheduled for September, but sudden elections had to be held last year due to the collapse of the current ruling coalition of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Greens and Free Democratic Party.
Opposition parties lead
According to news agency Xinhua, the latest surveys show that the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU)'s allied parties are taking the lead. According to a survey conducted by the Forsa Institute on Friday, the CDU and CSU got 29 percent support, while the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) got 21 percent and Chancellor Olaf Scholz's SPD got 15 percent support. The Forsa survey also shows that just before the election, 22 percent of respondents were still unsure about their choice.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz admits defeat
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has conceded defeat in his country's national election, as exit polls showed his party suffering painful losses. Scholz told supporters that "this is a bitter election result" and "this is an electoral defeat" for his center-left Social Democrats. Center-right opposition leader Friedrich Merz claimed victory in Germany's national election, as exit polls showed his bloc in the lead.
Friedrich Merz claims victory
Merz said he was aware of the dimension of the task ahead of him and that "it will not be easy." Merz said his goal was to form a governing coalition as soon as possible. "We have prepared ourselves very well for this Bundestag election and for assuming government responsibility," Merz told supporters at an election night party in Berlin.
What were the issues in the German election
According to official figures, a total of 4,506 candidates are standing for election in 299 constituencies. At least 59.2 million people are eligible to vote. A majority in the Bundestag is needed to form a stable federal government. Issues such as the Ukraine war, the challenging economic situation, high energy prices and illegal immigration have dominated the election. Voters in Germany do not directly elect the chancellor. Instead, they vote for members of parliament, who then select the chancellor.
How are elections held in Germany
Germany's electoral system is a mix of direct and proportional representation. Voters cast two votes - the first vote elects a representative for the local constituency, and the second supports a political party, which determines the proportional distribution of seats in the Bundestag. Under Germany's electoral law, the Bundestag has 630 seats, of which 299 are directly elected and the remaining 331 are allocated proportionally based on party votes. After voting, the ballots will be counted to determine the number of seats each party receives. Although it is rare for a party to win an absolute majority, coalitions are often formed to ensure a governing majority in the Bundestag.