Alternative for Germany won the most votes in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania with 38.2%, ahead of the Social Democratic Party's 35.5%, preliminary results showed. Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union received 4.9%, falling below the 5% threshold for representation in the state parliament for the first time since the Federal Republic was founded. The existing SPD-Left coalition lost its majority, though the SPD, Left Party and Greens have enough seats for a coalition and have ruled out governing with AfD. In Berlin, the Left Party won with about 25.3%, ahead of the CDU at 19%. The Sept. 20 votes, which extended eligibility to 16- and 17-year-olds in both states, add pressure on Merz after significant CDU losses.