Friedrich Merz-led German conservatives poised to win polls, show exit polls

Germany's conservative CDU/CSU alliance led by Friedrich Merz won Sunday's elections with between 28.5 and 29 percent of the vote, according to first TV exit polls.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) followed in second place with 19.5 to 20 percent, roughly doubling its result in the last election in 2021, based on initial figures from public broadcasters ARD and ZDF.

The surge of the anti-immigration AfD was fuelled by public fears over immigration and security after a spate of deadly attacks blamed on migrants and worries about the ailing economy.