The Sunday election marks a major turn of events for Germany, especially with the conservative block experiencing its worst results since the 1949 election.
Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD) party won in the nation’s federal election upon gaining 25.7% of the votes, results released by the electoral commission revealed early Monday.
The conservative Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union bloc came in second with approximately 24.1% of votes, with the Greens, who briefly led the polls early on, came in third with 14.8%.
Rounding out the top five, the Free Democratic Party came in with 11.5% of the votes, and the Alternative for Germany party is fifth with 10.3%.
In light of exit polls earlier indicating that the Social Democrats took the win, both the Greens and Free Democrats signaled that they would be willing to join a three-way alliance along with either of the two bigger rivals to form a government.
It could take weeks, if not months, to form a coalition in the nation.
The closely-watched election marks the end of an era for Germany and the European alliance as it now paves the exit for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose served in the post for the last 16 years. Merkel isn’t expected to step down from the post until her successor is officially declared.
Earlier, CDU Secretary-General Paul Ziemiak relayed his disappointment over earlier exit polls, describing the election as a “neck and neck race.”
