Merkel triumphs in German vote but allies crushed

Leader of the Christian Democratic Union Chancellor Angela Merkel (3nd, Right) celebrates afer first exit polls in the German general election at the CDU party headquartersin Berlin September 22, 2013. [Photo/Xinhua]

BERLIN - Official results confirm that Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives have won Germany's election but indicate that they have finished short of an absolute majority. Her center-right coalition partners crashed out of Parliament.

Merkel's conservative Union bloc won 41.5 percent of Sunday's vote. Its coalition partners, the pro-business Free Democrats, slumped to 4.8 percent, not enough to win seats.

Challenger Peer Steinbrueck's Social Democrats won 25.7 percent, their Green allies 8.4 percent and the hard-line Left Party 8.6 percent.

Election officials didn't immediately provide a seat tally but Merkel's conservatives are 1.2 percentage points behind the other parties combined. The likeliest outcome is a Merkel-led coalition with the Social Democrats.