The conservative Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) received the highest percentage of seats in the German election, accounting for 28.9% according to the latest projections.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) came in second with 19.7%, while the center-left Social Democrats placed third with 16.1%.

However, the selection of Germany’s new chancellor by the Bundestag will only take place once a governing coalition is formed, which could take months.

If the initial projections hold, CDU/CSU candidate Friedrich Merz is likely to become the frontrunner to succeed Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

For up-to-date news on the German election, please refer to our live updates.

The process of forming a coalition can take weeks or even months. In 2017, coalition negotiations took the longest time in German history, resulting in the country being without a government for nearly six months. However, if the political priorities of involved parties are more closely aligned and only two parties are involved, the process can proceed much more quickly.

The German chancellor is chosen through a secret ballot vote in the Bundestag. Political parties select their lead candidate before the election. After the vote, the parties work towards forming a governing coalition. Once a potential coalition is established, the German president presents a candidate to be elected chancellor. The selected candidate usually comes from the senior coalition partner of the newly formed government. A candidate requires an absolute majority to win the vote and can then begin naming Cabinet nominees.

Germany’s election system aims to create coalition governments. It combines majority rule and proportional representation principles. Each voter casts two ballots — the “Erstvote” and “Zweitstimme.” The first ballot is for a direct candidate from the voter’s constituency, while the second ballot is for a political party. The candidates’ names from each party appear on “Landeslisten” or state lists, which must be filed before the election. Candidates on these lists enter parliament based on their position on the list and the number of seats their party wins in a respective state.

The second votes determine the relative strength of parties in the Bundestag. The more second ballots a party receives, the more seats they are allocated. The first and second ballots do not have to be for candidates from the same party. Voters can choose a candidate from one party with their first ballot and a different party with their second ballot. Any party that wins more than 5% of the total vote is assured a place in the Bundestag.

Edited by: Michaela Cavanagh

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/german-election-exit-polls-center-right-cdu-csu-bloc-leads/a-71721544?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf