German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's challenger, Angela Merkel said on Sunday she had "the a very clear mandate to govern" despite her bloc's failure to win a majority in the election.

Speaking to a rally at the headquarters of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), SPD Chairman Franz Muentefering said the result indicates that voters trust Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, not Merkel.

"This is a personal defeat for Merkel," Muentefering said.

"Her dreams are shattered," the German TV ZDF was quoted by the German news agency DPA as saying.

However, addressing a rally at the headquarters of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Merkel said that CDU and its partner Christian Social Union are the strongest force in the parliament.

Despite the lack of a majority, the alliance has a "very clear mandate to govern," she said, vowing to seek cooperation with other parties.

According to the Forsa poll, CDU/CSU and its coalition partner, the Free Democratic Party (FDP), won only 286 of the 598 Bundestag or parliament seats.

Merkel's bloc will have to seek a grand coalition government. However, SPD has refused to cooperate with Merkel.

The poll showed that Schroeder's SPD wins 210 seats and its junior partner, the Green Party, won 51 seats. The Left Party also got 51 seats.

The ARD exit polls gave SPD 33.8 percent and the Greens 8.4 percent and CDU/CSU 35.7 percent and the FDP 10.5 percent. The Left Party was given 7.7 percent.

Analysts believe that Schroeder still has the chance to form a coalition government with the Left Party.

But Muentefering indicated that SPD will not cooperate with the Left Party.

Source: Xinhua