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.

Germany's opposition conservatives won the national election on Sunday, putting leader Friedrich Merz on track to be the next chancellor while the far-right Alternative for Germany came in second, its best ever result, projections showed.

German conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz won the country’s election Sunday, placing the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party in second place despite making gains.