German election results in graphics

With a record-breaking voter turnout of 83.5%, the highest since unification in 1990, Germans cast their polls in an early federal election on February 23. The election had been called after the three-way coalition government of Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and the neo-liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) collapsed in late 2024.

Votes for parties in the German parliamentary elections Based on projections, the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) led by chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz and its sister Christian Social Union (CSU) won the most votes, followed by the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Gains and losses for German parties The big winner of the election in terms of voter gains was the far-right AfD, while SPD, led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz recorded the largest loss of votes compared to previous elections.

How are the seats distributed in Germany’s parliament? There are630 seats in the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament. The number of seats a party has is determined by their vote share. A party must receive at least 5% of votes to enter parliament. However, an exception is granted to parties that field winning candidates in at least three electoral districts: winning three individual mandates lifts the 5% threshold for the respective party. 

Possible coalition options While the CDU/CSU have won the largest share of votes, they do not have an absolute majority. They will need to enter a coalition with another party to secure 316 seats in the Bundestag and form the next government. The coalition calculator shows what party combination is possible based on their voter share.

Voter migration Sunday’s election saw voters switching affiliations and moving across the party spectrum. One of the most significant migrations was away from the center-left SPD to the conservative CDU/CSU, which picked up roughly 2 million votes from the Social Democrats. The Left Party benefitted from voter migration from both the SPD and the Greens, adding 540,000 and 600,000 votes respectively.

Edited by: Michaela Cavanagh