That paves the way for their candidate, Friedrich Merz (pictured), to take over from Olaf Scholz as chancellor after coalition talks. The second was that the hard-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) had surged to its best-ever score,

German voters are choosing the next leaders of Europe’s biggest economy on Sunday with polls suggesting a likely victory for the opposition conservatives under Friedrich Merz and a bitter loss for Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his Social Democrats.

For the new Germans originally from Syria, the election is weighted with extra significance. Many of them fled their country because of the civil war that followed former Presiden

German citizens aged 18 and up can vote. At least 59.2 million people in the nation of 84 million are eligible, about 2.3 million of them for the first time. Polling stations are open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time. Four candidates are bidding to be Germany’s next leader in Sunday’s election.

Exit polls in Germany's elections predict a win for the conservatives while the far-right Alternative for Germany is set to record big gains.