Exit polls indicate that conservatives are likely to win the Bundestag elections.

He received 29 percent of the votes, according to forecasts from the ARD broadcasting company, and 28.5 percent according to predictions from ZDF. This result is one to two percent lower than what pre-election ratings indicated. Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz had previously expressed hope for an improvement in polling results.

In second place is the right-wing populist party "Alternative for Germany," which garnered 20 percent of the votes according to ARD forecasts and 19.5 percent according to ZDF predictions. This aligns completely with results from earlier sociological surveys. The AfD may achieve its best result in the party's history, doubling its performance compared to the 2021 elections.

As expected, the Social Democratic Party of Germany took third place, achieving its worst election result since the establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949. According to ARD, it received 16 percent of the votes, while ZDF forecasts indicate 16.5 percent. Many observers deem this a historic defeat.

The "Alliance 90/The Greens" party came in fourth, securing 13.5 percent of the votes (ARD) or 12 percent (ZDF). As ARD forecasts show, only the Left Party will enter the Bundestag, having obtained 8.5 percent of the votes. In this case, the CDU/CSU and SPD blocks could form a government coalition, simplifying the establishment of a government cabinet.

However, ZDF forecasts present a different picture. According to the second channel of German television, the Free Democratic Party and the Union of Sahra Wagenknecht will also enter the Bundestag. In line with this prediction, they each received about 5 percent of the votes.

The SPD congratulated CDU leader Merz on his victory even before the polling stations closed. SPD General Secretary Matthias Mirsch announced that the CDU/CSU block was tasked with forming a government cabinet.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz described the result as "bitter" for the social democrats. He took responsibility for the party's defeat in the elections.

The sociological institute Infratest dimap estimated the voter turnout at 84 percent. This is the highest rate since 1990, which was the first election after the reunification of Germany.

If the conservatives succeed in forming a government, the head of the CDU, 69-year-old Friedrich Merz, will become chancellor. The CDU/CSU program focuses on boosting Germany's economic growth and implementing tax relief.

Merz has repeatedly called for increasing military aid to Kyiv, including providing Taurus cruise missiles, the delivery of which has been blocked by Scholz's government. He advocates for achieving a just peace for Ukraine and has urged not to dismiss the issue of the country's NATO membership.