Germany Elections:SDP narrowly defeat Markel's party

Germany's Social Democrats narrowly won Sunday's national election, projected results showed, and claimed a "clear mandate" to lead a government for the first time since 2005 and to end 16 years of conservative-led rule under Angela Merkel.The centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) were on track for 26.0% of the vote, ahead of 24.5% for Merkel's CDU/CSU conservative bloc, projections for broadcaster ZDF showed, but both groups believed they could lead the next government.

Germans have voted to pick the person who will replace Angela Merkel, who is stepping down after 16 years as Germany's chancellor. But regardless of the outcome, the winner would still need to team up to form a coalition with other parties to form a government a process that may take weeks or even months.This is where the Green Party, currently holding third place, could have a big role to play. So considering Germany's complex voting system and the closeness of the race. Merkel has been the second-longest serving Chancellor in German history and also a popular one -- widely seen as a symbol of stability in Europe. 

The outcome of Germany’s federal election on Sunday looks impossible to predict, with one recent survey indicating a that significant number of Germans have not yet decided who to vote for. A survey by the Allensbach Institute last week found that 40% of 1,259 people were undecided on how they will vote. The survey, conducted for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper, also found that the majority were not drawn to any of the candidates standing for chancellor, nor their political parties.

Opinion polls narrowed in the final week but the Social Democrats (SPD) still hold a slight lead over Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its sister party, the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU), making it the first real contest in many years. Two final surveys published on Friday put the SPD ahead of the CDU-CSU alliance by 26 points to 25 and 25 to 22, respectively.