Conservative CDU/CSU win German federal election

Germany's conservative bloc, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU), has won in the country's 2025 federal election, the German Federal Returning Officer announced in the early hour of Monday based on the preliminary results.

According to vote counts, CDU/CSU secured 28.6 percent of the vote, followed by the Alternative for Germany (AfD) with 20.8 percent and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) with 16.4 percent.

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Conservative CDU/CSU win German federal election

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Conservative CDU/CSU win German federal election

The Greens came in fourth with 11.6 percent, ahead of Die Linke with 8.8 percent. The Free Democratic Party (FDP) and Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) received 4.3 percent and 4.972 percent, respectively.

Under the new German electoral law, the very election, which kicked off on Sunday, set the number of seats in the Bundestag at 630 and would determine the composition of the next Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament. A party must receive at least 5 percent of the national vote to gain representation in the Bundestag which holds legislative power and is responsible for electing the Federal Chancellor.

Friedrich Merz, chancellor candidate of the CDU/CSU, vowed to move swiftly to form a new government, while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz acknowledged the SPD's historic defeat and stated that he would remain in office until a new coalition government is formed.

Christian Lindner, who has served as FDP chairman for over 11 years, announced on social media that he will retire from politics after the election.

The FDP withdrew from the ruling coalition last year following disagreements with Scholz's SPD.

The last federal election was held on September 26, 2021. Normally, the election will be held every four years, and this election should have been held in September this year, but a snap election was triggered by the collapse of the current ruling coalition of the SPD, the Greens, and the FDP last year. The new federal election was brought forward to February 23 after the vote of confidence and the confirmation by the president.

The election this time saw approximately 59 million people eligible to cast their ballots. Many voters expressed that they hope the results of the election can bring changes to Germany.

"In fact, I've never felt voting was so important that this election is somehow particularly crucial," said Thorsten, a local resident of Berlin.

"The election is important, but I think because the current government hasn't functioned, since the FDP (Free Democratic Party) left. I think a clear message is needed that we simply need the people to cast their vote, so that maybe something else happens, perhaps, a change," said Hassan, a volunteer working at the polling station.

China on Tuesday sent the Yaogan-50 01 remote sensing satellite into space.

Launched at 22:16 (Beijing Time) aboard a modified version of the Long March-6 rocket, the satellite has entered planned orbit, according to the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center.

It will be used for national land surveys, crop yield estimation, and disaster prevention and mitigation.

The launch was the 624th flight mission undertaken by the Long March rocket series and marked China's first successful orbital launch of 2026.