German voters cast their ballots in Sunday’s election, with opposition leader Friedrich Merz claiming victory and Chancellor Olaf Scholz conceding defeat. Alternative for Germany, or AfD, is heading for the strongest showing for a far-right party since World War II.

Germany's conservatives won the national election on Sunday, while the far-right Alternative for Germany came in second, its best ever result.

Millions voted for a new federal government after the country's three-party coalition fell apart at the end of last year.

Polls opened across Germany on Sunday in an election that could shape Europe’s response to the new Trump administration, the Russia-Ukraine war and security across the continent.

Germany’s right-wing populist Alternative für Deutschland party, or AfD, is on course for a stunning result in Sunday’s German election, with reports indicating one-in-five voters

For the new Germans originally from Syria, the election is weighted with extra significance. Many of them fled their country because of the civil war that followed former Presiden