Polls opened early on Sunday as Germans are voting in a national election likely to see Chancellor Angela Merkel win a historic fourth term.
Opinion polls indicate Merkel’s conservative bloc is on track to remain the largest group in parliament, with Martin Schulz’s Social Democrats trailing by double digits.
As many as a third of Germans were undecided in the run-up to the vote, and it is to be seen if appeals by Merkel and Schulz that they go out and cast their ballot will be heeded.
And the leader of the Social Democrats, Martin Schulz, has cast his vote in his hometown, Wuerselen.
Schulz expressed confidence the Social Democrats will come out of the election with a good result.