The four candidates are running to be Germany’s next leader are incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz, of the center-left Social Democrats; Friedrich Merz of the mainstream conservative Christian Democratic Union party; current Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, of the environmentalist Greens; and Alice Weidel, of the far-right, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany, or AfD.
As soon as polls close at Sunday 6 p.m. local time, Germany’s two public television networks will release exit polls.
Germany’s election authority said Sunday that 52% of eligible voters had cast their ballots four hours before polling stations close.
German regulations require a pen in the voting booth. Pens are defined as “pencils (which do not have to be indelible), colored pencils, copy pens, ink pens, ballpoint pens, fiber pens, felt-tip pens and similar.” More here