While Merkel is widely expected to be reelected as chancellor for a fourth term, Sunday’s vote is likely to see a far-right party enter parliament for the first time in over six decades. Five out of the last five polls published before the vote have put Alternative für Deutschland in third place on 10 to 13%, behind Merkel’s CDU and the SPD. Angela Merkel's Ikea appeal makes her part of Germany's furniture Read moreAfter the far-right’s late surge in the polls, leading politicians have been urging the public to come out to vote. “Those who don’t vote let others decide the future of the country”, president Frank-Walter Steinmeier wrote in an article for Bild am Sonntag. First exit polls will be published upon closure of voting booths at 6pm CET, with a first projected vote expected soon after.

Source: The Guardian September 24, 2017 06:33 UTC