DUSHANBE, 07.12.2016. /NIAT “Khovar”/. German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday was reelected chairman of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) at the annual convention of the party with a support rate of 89.5 percent, paving the way for her to seek a new term of chancellorship, Xinhua news agency reports.

«I accept the election outcome and am pleased with the result. Thank you for the trust,» Merkel said after the vote.

According to the source, she got 89.5 percent support rate at the convention in German city of Essen.

In her speech to the nearly 1,000 delegates at the annual convention of the party, Merkel had committed her party to a tough federal election campaign in the coming year.

«You have to help me. No one can turn things around in Germany, in Europe, in the world alone, especially not a chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,» said Merkel.

Merkel had declared in November that she was ready to run for the fourth term in office in 2017 election. The announcement ended months of speculation at a time when Europe is plunged into uncertainty among rising populism.

If she wins for the fourth time in 2017, she has the chance to beat the record holder, her mentor Helmut Kohl, who served 16 years in office.