Angela Merkel elected German Chancellor for fourth term

 The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel’s party, Christian Democratic Union, CDU, has won Sunday’s election into the country’s Bundestag (federal parliament) for the fourth straight time though it could not pull through the required outright majority to form government alone.
It was an election that saw the relatively new comer, Alternative for Deutschland (AfD), securing a seat in the parliament for the first time.
CDU secured 32.9 per cent of the votes, according to reports monitored on NTV, trouncing its closest rival, the Social Democratic Party, SPD, which got 20.8 per cent of the votes cast.
AfD, with the reputation of being the third largest party in Germany, got 13.0 per cent of the votes cast, while Die Linke (The Left) got 9.0 per cent, Green 9.0 per cent and Sonstige 4.9 per cent.
In order to be allocated a seat, a party must gain at least five per cent of the national votes.
Details of the results will be formally announced by the German electoral body on Monday.
The results of the election put paid to the quest by Martin Schulz, the SPD candidate and leader, to unseat Mrs. Merkel, who will be returning to the chancellorship seat for the fourth time.
Mrs. Merkel had assumed office as Chancellor in April 2005 and had since won on her party’s platform.

However, the significant thing in the elections is the AfD’s victory has attracted protests at its office in Berlin. Some young Germans had massed up in front of the office in Central District protesting its victory.

Police had cordoned off the area at  about 10 p.m. on Sunday.
With CDU’s victory, Mrs. Merkel will now be faced with the challenge of shopping for new partners to form a coalition government with.
After the 2013 election, she had formed a coalition government with the SPD. She had done so with the Freed Democratic Party in 2009.
This time she may look the direction of some of the parties that won seats in the Bundestag, namely AfD, Die Link (The Left) and Green.
With about 33 percent, it is certain that CDU will go into the alliance with more than one party to be able to secure at least 45 per cent to form government.
What is certain though is that Mrs. Merkel is yet becoming the chancellor for the fourth time.
Born in Hamburg in the defunct Eastern Germany, Mrs. Merkel, 63, is married to Joachim Sauer.
She is the first female chancellor of Germany and holds a doctorate in quantum chemistry.