In Hamburg, a high voter turnout is expected to characterize the municipal election on Sunday. Polls in the Hanseatic city have been open since early morning and by 11:00 a.m. local time, over 38% of eligible voters had cast their ballots, according to the Hamburg Interior Ministry. This figure is higher than the same time in the previous election, when it stood at 29.6%.
Pollsters do not anticipate any major surprises. For months, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) has led in the polls, with over 30% of the vote. Compared to the 2020 election, the SPD is expected to lose a few percentage points, having won the election with 39.2% of the valid votes cast at the time.
The real competition is expected to be for the second spot, with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Greens vying for the position. Both parties have been polling around 17% in recent surveys, a significant improvement for the CDU, which had a historic low of 11.2% in the 2020 election, while the Greens had their strongest result to date with 24.2%.
The Left and the Alternative for Germany (AfD) are also expected to be in a close race for the fourth spot, with both parties having been polling around 9-10% in recent weeks, with the Left experiencing a recent surge.
The polling stations will close at 6:00 p.m. local time and the first projections are expected to be released then.