Decision not likely to be reached in coming days – with any possible coalition likely to need a third party

Germany’s Green party and conservatives have described initial rounds of exploratory coalition talks as “constructive”.

The comment came after the first formal meeting since last month’s election between the likely chief kingmaker in a future government and the second-placed Christian Democrats (CDU).

Official preliminary results show SPD secured 25.7% of the vote and CDU won 24.1%

• German election results: exit polls and possible coalitions

5.44am BST

If you speak some German, here’s an interesting analysis from the Süddeutsche Zeitung, which suggests that Germany wanted change – but also not really, noting that the election results throw up more questions than they answer.

“Germans longed for new horizons, but in the end they didn’t really trust themselves, “ the authors write. They discuss Germans changing allegiances in the run up to the poll, and make the point that never before has the strongest party in the Bundestag been simultaneously so weak.

Bei der Bundestagswahl wollte Deutschland den Wechsel - aber nicht so ganz. Warum das so ist - eine Analyse in Daten und Grafiken. #btw #ddj https://t.co/Lj2bw11MAF

5.13am BST

It’s just past 6am in Germany, where people are waking up to the official preliminary results of Sunday’s federal election. If you’re just joining us, here’s a brief summary of what they were:

A coalition is inevitable but there are likely to be months of complicated negotiations in the months ahead

Polling stations have opened in Germany as the nation decides who will succeed in the race to replace Angela Merkel as chancellor after 16 years.

As final rallies were held across the country by the the main candidates on Saturday, with polls showing the lead held by the Social Democrats’ Olaf Scholz over Armin Laschet of the Christian Democrats to have narrowed to a tiny margin, voter participation among the more than 60 million Germans eligible to vote, was predicted to be high.

A coalition appears inevitable after two surveys suggest almost equal support for CDU and former favourite

The race to succeed Angela Merkel as German chancellor remains completely open two days before western Europe’s most populous country goes to the polls, with the latest predictions showing the leading parties almost neck and neck.

Two leading polls published on Friday ahead of Sunday’s election indicate the Social Democrats (SPD) have lost their lead over the Christian Democrats (CDU). One, carried out by Civey for the broadcaster ZDF, showed the SPD to be stable on 25%, but the CDU to have risen to 23%. A poll released later in the day for the polling institute Allensbach for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung showed the race to be even tighter, with the SPD on 26%, the CDU on 25%.

After 16 years in power, Angela Merkel is to retire as chancellor after a general election on Sunday, leaving a gaping hole in German politics. Merkel announced in October 2018 that her fourth term in office would be the last. The decision marks the first time since 1949 that an incumbent chancellor has not run for re-election. Appointed chancellor for the first time on 22 November 2005, Merkel has been in office for almost as long as Helmut Kohl, Germany’s longest-serving leader, who was in power for just over 16 years