Germany's CDU/CSU conservative alliance won Sunday's general election election and the Elon Musk-endorsed far-right, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party came second, preliminary results show.

CDU's Friedrich Merz has claimed victory while SPD's Olaf Scholz has regretted the "bitter" election result. The German electoral authority confirmed the CDU's win in preliminary results, followed by the far-right AfD.

Friedrich Merz, the leader of the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) bloc, has emerged victorious in the national elections in Germany. The CDU/CSU won 28.8% of the vote, estimates from public broadcaster ARD showed. The victory marks a major shift in Germany's political landscape.