An exit poll on Sunday evening showed that Angela Merkel’s CDU/CSU bloc will be the largest party in the next German parliament, but early indications point to a worse-than-expected majority for the German chancellor.
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Sunday’s federal election will ultimately decide whether the incumbent chancellor, Angela Merkel, has another four years in power. Voters do not directly elect the next chancellor, but the winning party will look to form a coalition with rival parties.
Germany’s complex electoral system means that coalition governments tend to be the norm in the country. The Bundestag must convene within 30 days of the vote but government formation could take up to 100 days, some analysts have said. If Merkel’s party manages to successfully form a coalition then she herself must be elected as chancellor with an absolute majority by the Bundestag’s members at a later date. The candidate for chancellor is from the party that wins the most votes, raising Merkel’s chances of re-election.
Although the first projections of the election outcome came on Sunday evening, a definitive final election result could take until Tuesday.
