Merz elected chancellor in 2nd-round Bundestag vote

Friedrich Merz from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) was elected German chancellor on Tuesday afternoon's second-round Bundestag voting. In the first round, Merz failed to secure a required majority in the parliament.

A total of 325 members of Germany's Bundestag, the country's lower house of parliament, voted for Merz, surpassing the 316 seats needed. In the first round earlier on Tuesday, Merz received 310 votes. He is also the first chancellor candidate since World War II to fail to be elected in the first round.

After the failure in the first round, Bundestag President Julia Kloeckner interrupted the plenary session. Parliamentary groups of political parties had hours of discussions before deciding to hold the second round of voting.

Following the election results, Merz headed for the Federal President's official residence, Schloss Bellevue, to be formally appointed by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Merz will officially assume the office of federal chancellor and lead the new government formed by the Union bloc (CDU/CSU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD).