Germany’s political system is set up to exclude extremists. Yet the country is waking up to a new political reality that has lurched to the right with the once outcast Alternative for Germany (AfD) party now firmly established in German politics.

The Christian Democratic Union has won a plurality in the Bundestag, preliminary exit polls suggested Sunday, while the far-right AfD has come in second.

Provisional results confirm that mainstream conservatives led by Friedrich Merz won Germany's national election while a far-right party surged to become the nation’s second-largest.

The Christian Democrats won with 28.6% of the vote while the far-right Alternative for Germany came second with 20.8%.

Friedrich Merz looks poised to form a coalition between his center-right alliance and the center-left Social Democrats, but Germany is facing political uncertainty with an emboldened far right. The

Exit polls show the center-right Christian Democratic Union party leading, with the AfD party heading towards the strongest showing of the far-right since World War II.

Polls are open across Germany as the world’s third largest economy chooses a new leader to guide it through an era of febrile immigration debates and souring relations with Washington.