Germany election: SPD in wafer-thin lead as results come in

Social Democrats edge out Christian Democrats in exit polling and early counted results for federal election

• Germany's 2021 federal election - live updates
• German election results: exit polls and possible coalitions

Germany is set for weeks or even months of protracted coalition talks after the race to produce a successor to Angela Merkel after 16 years in power failed to produce a clear winner, with the centre-left Social Democrats and the centre-right conservative alliance in a tight first and second.

Related: Germany election 2021: Social Democrats and Merkel's CDU neck-and-neck in chancellor race, exit polls say