German election results show that
Angela Merkel has won a fourth term. She is the head of the Christian Party, CDU which remains the largest party, the far-right AfD will be the third biggest political force.
Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party the CSU came out ahead in Germany's national election on Sunday, with a projected 33.0 percent of the vote.
Rival Social Democrats (SPD) led by Martin Schulz tumbled to a mere 20.5 percent, while the Green and Left parties remained about the same as they did in 2013, each with 8.8 percent.
The only real success stories of the night were for the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) and far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
As for the populist AfD, a remarkable showing of 12.7 percent means that Germany will have a far-right party in parliament for the first time in more than half a century.
Perhaps the biggest upset of the election was the 12.7 percent achieved by the nationalist Alternative for Germany (AfD), making them the third-largest party in the Bundestag. Many Germans were understandably concerned about a far-right party entering parliament for the first time in more than half a century.
In opposition to the AfD's victory, spontaneous protests erupted across Germany, particularly in major cities like Cologne, Berlin and Hamburg. Chanting "Nazis out!" hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Berlin's Alexanderplatz until well past midnight. Co-chair Jörg Meuthen insisted the party is "neither racist nor xenophobic."
Meanwhile, the party's co-leader Alexander Gauland promised to "hound" Merkel's government, saying the AfD would "reclaim" Germany from its current leaders.
Edited from Deutsche Welle
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