Bundestag Election 2025 LIVE: Results and Everything About Election Day in Germany

The federal election in Germany takes place on February 23. According to the Federal Statistical Office, at least 59.2 million Germans are expected to be eligible to vote. Those who are at least 18 years old and have German citizenship are allowed to vote.

29 parties can participate in the federal election - significantly fewer than in the last election in 2021, when 47 parties, the most since reunification, were able to run. Eleven parties are running nationwide this time, while the others will not appear on the ballots in all states.

LIVE Blog for the 2025 Federal Election in Germany

After years of wrangling, the Bundestag will be elected for the first time under a reformed electoral law that limits the size of the people's representation to 630 deputies. Voters are now allowed to cast two votes: the first for the direct election of deputies in 299 constituencies, the second nationwide for a party. The composition of the Bundestag must always exactly match the second vote result.

The polling stations are open on the day of the federal election from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM. VIENNA.at will keep you updated on election day from 12:00 PM with the latest developments and the results of the 2025 federal election in the ticker.

CDU/CSU Ahead in Polls, Followed by AfD and SPD

According to surveys, everything points to a victory for the Christian Democratic Union in the early parliamentary election: CDU and CSU are at 28 percent according to polls. In second place is the AfD with 21 percent.

Union's chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz has shown confidence regarding the federal election. The goal is to "solve at least a large part of our country's problems" in the next four years and to ensure that populists from the left and right no longer have a chance to "cook their thin soup," Merz said at the campaign's conclusion.

Dissatisfaction with the parties of the failed traffic light coalition is high among Germans. The chancellor party SPD is at 16 percent, just ahead of the Greens, who are at 14 percent according to the survey.

In fifth place is now the Left. It is seen at eight percent and would thus be back in the Bundestag. Then come the uncertain candidates who could fail at the five percent hurdle. The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) and the FDP are tied in polls at 4.5 percent. None of the other parties running in the 2025 Bundestag election manage to exceed three percent.

The Top Candidates of the Bundestag Parties at a Glance

Olaf Scholz (SPD)

Olaf Scholz has started as the defending champion, but with similarly poor chances as before his surprise victory three years ago. This time, the comeback is yet to happen, which is also related to the poor sympathy ratings of the chancellor candidate. His communication style has been criticized since the beginning of his term. The image of lacking leadership also clings to the 66-year-old from Hamburg - which he vehemently denies. In the election campaign, Scholz tried to score with his government experience - as a federal minister, mayor of Hamburg, and chancellor.

Alice Weidel (AfD)

Alice Weidel is the first chancellor candidate that the AfD has nominated in its twelve-year history. The US billionaire Elon Musk recently gave the 45-year-old an international boost in recognition on his platform X. She joined the AfD in its founding year 2013 out of frustration over the so-called euro rescue policy.

Friedrich Merz (Union)

CDU leader Friedrich Merz has the best chances of leading the Union back to the chancellery after only about three and a half years in opposition. The 69-year-old was long considered politically written off. But tenacious and determined, the Sauerland native fought his way back. Within his own ranks, he is credited with reuniting the CDU after the loss of power in 2021 and mending the fractured relationship with the CSU during Merkel's time with a hard line on migration policy.

Robert Habeck (Greens)

Most people are likely familiar with Robert Habeck as the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, who struggled to secure Germany's energy supply after the Russian attack on Ukraine, but also bears responsibility for the controversial heating law. The now 55-year-old came to politics late: he joined the Greens in 2002 due to a missing bike path in his home region of Schleswig-Holstein. As the second top but not chancellor candidate of the Greens, Annalena Baerbock is campaigning for votes. The travel-loving foreign minister is very hopeful for a second term.

Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW)

There was never any doubt within the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance that the party founder herself would become the top candidate. For more than three decades, Wagenknecht remained in the successor parties PDS and Die Linke and was, among other roles, the head of the parliamentary group. Initially, she was politically far left with the Communist Platform. Later, she advocated positions that were too far right for her comrades, including the demand for strict limitation of migration. Her book "The Self-Righteous" became a bestseller, but also a divorce paper for Die Linke. In October 2023, she left the party.

Christian Lindner (FDP)

The poll numbers are at rock bottom, but at least the FDP leader has retained his sense of humor. After a cake made of shaving foam was thrown in his face during the election campaign, he said: "Next time, please something from the baker or confectioner." He took his dismissal as Finance Minister by Chancellor Scholz less humorously. He had already prepared himself and his Liberals for a break in the traffic light coalition. But the situation is now bleak for the party. Contrary to expectations, the turnaround in the polls did not materialize, and the FDP is below the five-percent threshold.

A Two-Party Coalition Will Be Tight

Which government could be formed in Germany after the election largely depends on how many of the smaller parties enter parliament. In most polls, two options with two coalition partners are conceivable: Black-Red with the Union and SPD or Black-Green with the Union and the Greens. If borderline candidates also make it into the Bundestag, a two-party alliance is generally not enough according to the current state of the polls.

Then, as with the failed traffic light government, only a three-party alliance would be possible. The second-placed AfD is excluded from coalition considerations in the party headquarters of the others: They rule out an alliance with the party, parts of which are classified as right-wing extremist by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.

The outcome of the Bundestag election is likely to remain exciting, as about 22 percent of voters still did not know how they would vote on Sunday, even two days before the election.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.