On Sunday, September 24, 2017, German Nationals residing in Nigeria, converged at the Lacour Hotels, Ikoyi, Lagos, to observe the collation and announcement of results for that country’s election, where German Chancellor Angela Merkel was re-elected for a fourth term, as exit polls suggest.
Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union of Germany/Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CDU/CSU) alliance won 32.5 per cent of the vote, remaining the largest party in Germany’s parliament, according to the ARD poll, reports BBC.
Its outgoing coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party (SDP), said it would go into opposition after winning 20 per cent.
In a result which shocked many, the nationalist, Alternative for Germany (AfD), was on track to win 13.5 per cent making it the third party.
Addressing supporters, Mrs Merkel said she had hoped for a “better result” and talked about “extraordinary challenges”.
She would listen, she said, to the “concerns and anxieties” of AfD voters in order to win them back.
The numbers mean the SDP, led by Martin Schulz, has fallen to a new post-World War Two low.
Mr Schulz said the result was the end of the “grand coalition” with Mrs Merkel’s alliance.
“It’s a difficult and bitter day for social democrats in Germany,” he told supporters. “We haven’t reached our objective.”
AfD’s performance, better than forecast in opinion polls, means the right-wing party will have seats in the Bundestag for the first time.
Prominent AfD figure Frauke Petry said on Twitter (in German) that Germany had experienced an incomparable “political earthquake”.
The exit poll puts the Liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP), on 10.5 per cent, the Greens on 9.5 per cent and Die Linke (The Left) on 9 per cent.
Mrs Merkel will now have to search for new coalition partners, a process that could take months.
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