Friedrich Merz's CDU/CSU conservative alliance has won the general election with 28.6% of the vote, according to preliminary results announced by Germany's federal electoral body.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) secured 20.8% of the vote, which is the party's strongest result to date at the federal level.
Outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats' (SPD) share of the vote dropped to 16.4%, putting them at third place.
The SPD's junior coalition partner, the environmentalist Greens, won 11.6%.
The pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) netted only 4.3%, meaning that it will not enter the Bundestag as it did not pass the 5% threshold for representation in parliament. The same goes for the left-wing populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), which got 4.97%.
The socialist Left Party achieved 8.8% of the vote.
FDP 'fighting for survival' in German election
Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, a member of the EU parliament for the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP), told DW that a "long night" was ahead of the party as it waited to see whether it would manage to enter the Bundestag.
Preliminary results show the FDP at 4.3% of the vote, which put it under the 5% minimum threshold for representation in parliament.
