'I am #88percent': Hashtag becomes rallying cry among anti-AfD voters against far-right German surge

Voters across Germany are tweeting in solidarity against the rise of the AfD following their electoral breakthrough into the Bundestag. The far-right party picked up just under 13% of the votes which has caused shock waves across the country.

With the final votes still being counted, those who did not back the AfD have since taken to Twitter and the streets to voice their opposition.

The hashtags #87prozent (percent) and #88prozent started trending overnight in Germany, representing the overwhelming majority of Germans who voted for another party.

The party's best performances came in parts of the former East Germany, but as many as 60% of those who voted AfD only did so out of protest, illustrating the fragility of their support.

On Monday morning (25 September), the AfD were left stunned when co-party leader Frauke Petry unexpectedly quit the party.

The 13% figure for the AfD means that for the first time, elected members will be able to take up their seats in the German Bundestag.

It also marks the return of the far right to Germany's mainstream politics for the first time since the Nazis in 1945.

Protesters took to the streets of Berlin, while hundreds stood outsider the AfD party headquarters condemning their anti-immigrant views.

Merkel's CDU party comfortably won the largest share of the votes but at around 33%, it was the lowest percentage recorded for the party since she came to power in 2005.

The main opposition group, the SPD, could only pick up around 20% of the vote, its worst-ever result in the modern German era.