German election latest – Exit poll predicts CDU win as far-right AfD surges and Olaf Scholz humiliated
Exit polls have now been published for the German Federal election 2025, suggesting frontrunner Friedrich Merz’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party have come out well in front, as the far-right AfD make large gains.
The CDU/CSU bloc was on course to win first place with 28.5 per cent of the vote, followed by AfD with 20 per cent, marking a record result for the far-right party, public broadcaster ZDF reported.
Olaf Scholz’s centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) garnered just 16.5 per cent of the vote, its worst-ever result, the projection showed.
The outcome, which will determine how the country is run for the next four years, is expected to be clear fairly soon after polls closed at 6pm local time on Sunday, but the final official result is expected early on Monday.