Germany's mainstream conservatives won the country's national election, while a far-right party surged to become the nation’s second-largest party, according to provisional results following Sunday’s election.

The centre-right CDU has emerged as the biggest party in the German election, making Merz the most likely to lead a government, following coalition negotiations.

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.