German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s SPD party narrowly beat the far-right Alternative for Germany in the Brandenburg election, which was seen as a referendum for him.

After a string of bitterly disappointing elections, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) finally have something to celebrate after winning Sunday's vote in the eastern state of Brandenburg.

However, questions about the future of Germany's ruling coalition remain.It was "only" a regional election and Brandenburg, with its 2.1 million eligible voters, is only one of Germany's 16 federal states.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD) staved off the far right in a regional election on Sunday, likely providing him only a brief reprieve from growing criticism of his leadership within his own party.

According to final results published Sunday evening by the state electoral administration, the Social Democrats won 30.9% of the votes in the election to the parliament of Brandenburg, the state that surrounds Berlin. The far-right Alternative for Germany was a close second with 29.2%.

Germans in the state of Brandenburg were voting in a regional election on Sunday with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) expected to finish first, building on successes in other eastern states and beating Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats in one of their traditional strongholds.