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Race wide open as Germany votes in post-Merkel election
The epochal election ushers in the end of 16 years in power for Merkel and places Germany, a byword for stability, in a new period of uncertainty.
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Voters wearing the traditional clothes of the region cast their ballot at a polling station during general elections in Bayrischzell, southern Germany, on September 26, 2021.
(AFP/Uwe Lein)
G
ermany was voting Sunday in one of the most unpredictable elections in its recent history, with Angela Merkel's conservatives and the centre-left Social Democrats in a tight race for her crown as she prepares to leave the political stage.
The epochal election ushers in the end of 16 years in power for Merkel and places Germany, a byword for stability, in a new period of uncertainty.
Opinion polls show the race for the chancellery headed for a photo finish, with Merkel's CDU-CSU conservative alliance on around 23 percent, just behind the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) on 25 percent -- well within the margin of error.
"We will certainly see some surprises on Sunday," said Nico Siegel, head of the Infratest Dimap polling company.
Despite the SPD's lead in the polls, a victory for the conservatives "can't be ruled out", he said. "The race for first place is wide open."
Polls opened at 0600 GMT and will close at 1600 GMT.
Around 40 percent of Germany's 60.4 million eligible voters have said they are undecided, while the same proportion have already cast their ballots by post -- including Merkel herself.
