Exit polls for Germany's federal election say the anti-immigration Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) party has won 13% of the vote.

It will be enough to secure it seats in the Bundestag - the first time a far-right party has won seats in the country's parliament since World War Two.

The signs are that AfD picked up support from the centre-right party of Chancellor Angela Merkel and left of centre Social Democratic Party (SDP), which both saw their share of the vote fall from 2013.

:: Your bluffer's guide to the German elections

Under the country's electoral law, if a party fails to win constituency seats under first-past-the-post, it must gain more than 5% of second-votes in order to be handed seats under the proportional representation element of Bundestag elections.


AfD's poll surge prompts widespread protests

In addition to the AfD, three other minor parties look like they have won a large enough vote share to guarantee themselves seats.

Analysts say Angela Merkel's most likely coalition partners will be the liberal Free Democratic Party and the Greens.

So, who are the minor parties that could help or hinder Mrs Merkel's fourth term as Chancellor?

:: German elections: Who is Angela Merkel?

:: German elections: Who is Martin Schulz?

Alternative für Deutschland (AfD)

Latest poll projection: 13%

Only founded in 2013, the anti-immigration and anti-Islam AfD have pulled off an astonishing shock by becoming the first far-right party to be represented in the Bundestag since the end of the Second World War.

Polling at 13%, AfD are also on course to become the third-largest party in German politics.

Despite having already won representation in 13 of Germany's state parliaments, winning seats for the first time at federal level will increase AfD's resources and ensure they remain part of the national debate.

The party's popularity surged as Europe's migration crisis in 2015 dominated German politics.

It was thought that AfD's poll ratings diminished after Mrs Merkel took a harder stance on asylum claims and helped push through the EU's controversial migrant deal with Turkey, which has stemmed the flow of people crossing the Mediterranean to Europe.

But in scoring nearly 13% of the vote, the party has shown that it has bounced back and is nearly at the levels it saw in mid-2016.

Image: The AfD's Frauke Petry (left) and Alexander Gauland lead a rally

Amid internal power struggles, AfD's popularity took a nosedive earlier this year when party bosses were forced to try to expel one of their leading members.

Bjorn Hocke caused a national outrage after using a speech to claim Germany needed to perform a "180-degree turnaround'' in remembering the country's Nazi past.

His comments were criticised by party co-leader Frauke Petry, who once called for German border police to shoot "if necessary" at refugees trying to enter the country illegally.

She has since admitted defeat in her bid to move AfD to adopt more mainstream positions - in an attempt to foster cooperation with other parties - and subsequently taken a back seat in the federal election campaign.

The party's campaign is instead being led by AfD co-founder Alexander Gauland, who was recently accused of inciting racial hatred after he declared a German minister, of Turkish heritage, should be "disposed of" in Turkey.

Despite winning their first Bundestag seats, other parties have refused to work with AfD in the federal parliament, removing their chances of being in government.

Key policies: AfD ran on an election programme that declared Islam incompatible with German culture and called for an immediate closure of the country's borders.

FDP (Free Democratic Party)

Latest poll projection: 11%

The FDP suffered a disastrous result in the last federal election in 2013, when they failed to win a single seat in the Bundestag for the first time since 1949.

But, the party are staging a stunning comeback to federal politics, with their fourth place set to land them a place in coalition with Mrs Merkel's Union parties.

Image: A Die Linke campaign poster features the party's co-leader Sahra Wagenknecht

Founded from pre-Second World War liberal parties, the FDP have a long history in the centre-ground of German politics.

Key policies: The FDP promised to slash taxes, cut red tape and invest in Germany's digital infrastructure. They also wanted an overhaul of immigration law and eurozone reform.

Die Linke (The Left)

Latest poll projection: 9%

Far-left Die Linke was previously the biggest of Germany's opposition parties with 64 seats in the Bundestag.

Formed in 2007 from SPD defectors and the successor party to East Germany's communists, Die Linke were hoping they could mirror Jeremy Corbyn's better-than-expected performance in the recent UK election.

Image: The Greens want Germany to use only renewable energy sources by 2050

Die Linke's chances of entering government - by entering a coalition with the SPD - were sunk when the centre-left party managed just 20% of the vote, according to exit polls.

Key policies: Die Linke called for wealth to be redistributed, NATO to be replaced with a new organisation including Russia and for an end to German military combat missions.

Die Grünen (The Greens)

Latest poll projection: 9%

The Greens were the second-biggest German opposition party with 63 seats in the Bundestag.

But, unlike Die Linke, the party have a double chance of entering a coalition government with it possible both the SPD and Mrs Merkel's Union parties could chase a deal with the Greens, should the Bundestag arithmetic allow.

Despite wide representation within Germany's state parliaments, the Greens popularity has plummeted since they polled highs of more than 20% in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Image: FDP leader Christian Lindner could see his party make a comeback to federal politics

Their fall in support has, in the main, been caused by the increasing popularity of the SPD under new leader Mr Schulz, who has won back some of his party's previously disgruntled voters who deserted to the Greens.

Many of the Greens' popular policies have also been adopted by Germany's main parties, squeezing their support.

Key policies: The Greens called for Germany's energy to be exclusively delivered by renewable sources by 2050 at the latest, for zero-emissions cars to be the only vehicles approved from 2030 and for an end to intensive factory farming over the next two decades.