Germany's conservative CDU/CSU alliance led by Friedrich Merz won Sunday's elections with 28.6 percent of the vote.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) followed in second place with 20.8 percent, roughly doubling its result in the last election in 2021, based on initial figures from public broadcasters ARD and ZDF.

The surge of the anti-immigration AfD was fueled by public fears over immigration and security after a spate of deadly attacks blamed on migrants and worries about the ailing economy.

Despite the strong result, the AfD is set to stay out of power for now, because its possible coalition partners refuse all cooperation with the far right. 

Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party (SPD) recorded their worst result in the history of Germany's post-war democracy, winning 16.4 percent. 

The Greens secured 11.6 percent of the votes. 

The far-left Linke cleared the five-percent hurdle to enter the Bundestag, with 8.8 percent.

 The pro-business Free Democrats (FDP), who were in government until recently, won 4.3 percent. The far-left party, newcomer the BSW, won 4.9 percent.

Others won 4.5 percent.