Election in Germany Has Begun
Polling stations across Germany opened at 8 a.m. today, with a total of 29 parties and 4,506 candidates vying for 630 seats in the Bundestag. According to the head of the federal election, 32 percent of the candidates are women, a one percentage point decrease from the previous year. Over 59 million people are eligible to vote.
Recent polls show the CDU and CSU leading with 29 to 32 percent, the SPD with 14 to 16 percent, the Greens with 12 to 14 percent and the AfD with 20 to 21 percent.
The smaller parties are also gaining attention, with the Left party having a significant surge in the polls and now expected to win between 6 to 8 percent of the vote. The BSW, on the other hand, has seen a decline and is now expected to win between 3 to 5 percent, putting its chances of entering the Bundestag in jeopardy. The FDP, with a projected 4 to 5 percent, is also facing an uncertain outcome.
The head of the federal election will announce the preliminary voter turnout at 3:30 p.m. today, but the figures will not be directly comparable to previous years due to the increasing trend of postal voting.