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 Democratic Union’s likely victory comes despite a strong showing by the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD.

German conservatives under likely next chancellor Friedrich Merz vowed on Monday to move quickly to try to form a coalition after winning the most votes in a national election that saw far-right and far-left parties gain support from disaffected voters.