BERLIN, May 6 (Bernama-dpa) - Friedrich Merz on Tuesday failed to be elected Germany's next chancellor in a first round of voting in parliament, falling short of an absolute majority, German Press Agency (dpa) reported.
The conservative leader received 310 votes in the 630-seat Bundestag, six short of the necessary majority.
The shock result is a major embarrassment for Merz, whose incoming coalition - made up of the Christian Democrats (CDU), the Bavaria-only Christian Social Union (CSU) and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) - holds 328 seats in the 630-seat Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament.
According to the Basic Law, Germany's de facto constitution, lawmakers have 14 days to elect a chancellor with an absolute majority.
Subsequently, only a simple majority would be needed to elect a chancellor.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier would then have seven days to formally appoint the elected candidate as chancellor, or instead choose to dissolve the Bundestag and hold new elections.
-- BERNAMA-dpa
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