German election: Voters turn out to decide next government

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Exit polls are scheduled at 6 p.m. local time with projections that are regularly updated. Polls have so far been quite accurate, though official results will likely not be known until Monday.

It will likely take weeks or months before a new government or a ruling coalition takes shape.

Preliminary polling data has revealed a potentially high turnout at this year's German election.

As of 2 p.m. German time, four hours before polls are set to close, turnout was calculated at around 52% —  a significant increase on the 36.5% recorded at the same stage in 2021. The previous parliamentary election concluded with the turnout at 76.4%.

A higher turnout at polling stations this year could be linked to a reduction in the number of postal votes compared to 2021, when Germany was still in the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the latest figures are also considerably higher than the 2017 election, when the turnout was at 41% by mid-afternoon.

The number of parties vying for seats in the German parliament is on the rise. While this reflects a diverse political landscape, it also brings challenges: forming a stable majority and creating a functional government is becoming increasingly difficult.

DW chief political correspondent Nina Haase explained that Germany's Social Democrat Chancellor (SPD) Olaf Scholz remains confident in his cautious approach to foreign policy.

As chancellor, Scholz launched an effort to modernize Germany's military after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and made Germany Ukraine's second-biggest weapons supplier.

But he remained steadfast in his decision not to give Ukraine Taurus long-range missiles and stressed the need to act "prudently" even when pressure grew.

Friedrich Merz, chancellor candidate and leader of the Christian Democrats (CDU) has shifted the party "back to the conservative camp" and remains in "favor of supplying" Taurus missiles if other partners agree, explained DW's chief political editor Michaela Küfner.

The far-right AfD has emerged as the "most anti-immigrant party" as efforts to curb migration rise to top of voters' minds.  AfD is "the most anti-immigrant party," said DW's political correspondent, Matthew Moore, adding that it "will probably be the biggest opposition party." The faction is keen to build up relations with Russia, as well as reopen nuclear power plants as a way to secure Germany's energy supply.

A 33-year-old man reportedly drew a knife at a polling station in the western German city of Krefeld and threatened another person.

According to local police, the man had already voted but had shouted "insults" and accused polling station helpers of election rigging.

The knife, which he did not use, was confiscated and the man issued with a dispersal order.

Criminal charges are expected to follow.

"Jamaica," "traffic light" and "blackberry" are terms used to describe coalition governments because of party colors. Which is which? 

Bayern Munich great Uli Hoeness has added his voice to public criticism of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

"If one of our players suddenly started promoting the AfD, I'd have a word with them and ask if they've still got all their toys in the attic," he told Kicker magazine, Germany's leading football outlet.

Hoeness, the legendary Bayern player and club head, is now in semi-retirement as honorary president, but remains a hugely influential voice in German football and beyond.

Last year, at a service celebrating the life of the late Franz Beckenbauer, Hoeness had praised his former colleague for his role in bringing the 2006 World Cup to Germany – albeit in dubious circumstances.

"Do you remember the thousands of people across the country waving black, red and gold flags?" he said. "Because they were proud of our country. And that is where we have to return to. But I don't want that to involve the AfD."

Speaking to Kicker on Sunday, he reiterated: "More than 50% of our youth players have a migratory background. Bayern is a wonderful example of migration and integration."

Polling stations in the states of Saxony, Lower Saxony, Saxony Anhalt and Thuringia have reported slightly increased turnout compared to the last federal election in 2021, as have cities including Bremen, Cologne, Munich and Nuremberg.

In the western city of Duisburg, in Germany's formerly industrial Ruhr valley in North Rhine-Westphalia, one constituency is determined to increase turnout after recording only 63% in 2021 – the lowest in Germany.

The city council has run an advertising campaign on radio, billboards, social media calling on residents to vote. And it seems to have had an effect on at least one voter, a 44-year-old man who told Spiegel magazine that he was voting for the first time.

"I don't feel secure here anymore," he said, claiming that, while he is explicitly not against migrants, there are too many who "don't stick to the rules."

"What would Germany be without foreigners? Nothing," he said, explaining how he grew up with Albanians and Turks who he considers close friends. But he said that, nowadays, his 13-year-old daughter has to be back home by 5 p.m. every evening and that there was too much litter and too much poverty.

Therefore, he is voting because he wants "clear rules, clear boundaries."

Regulating migration is one of the most debated topics in German politics. And party views differ greatly, with some politicians happy with temporary border checks while others demand a complete overhaul of asylum rights. DW gives you an overview:

Thank you for following our coverage of German parliamentary elections from our online newsroom in Bonn, where new reporters are arriving after casting their ballots. Editors Darko Janjevic and Jenipher Camino Gonzalez, as well as writers Matt Ford and Nik Martin, will be with you throughout the afternoon. 

This year's German election coincides with carnival season, raising the question: are people allowed to vote in fancy dress? And what if they've had a beer? Or several?

Well, according to official electoral guidelines, it is "in principle also possible to vote in costume" so long as a carnival-goer's presence doesn't "jeopardize the general order in the polling station or cause public nuisance."

Carnival, known as "Fasching" in southern Germany or "Karneval" in the western Rhineland, is celebrated across traditionally Catholic areas of the country ahead of the Christian season of Lent.

This year, the holiday falls this coming Thursday through next week on March 3. But for many carnival-goers, known as "Karnevalisten" or "Jecken," the festivities have already begun.

While Germans are still allowed to vote if slightly tipsy, heavily intoxicated and/or rowdy voters who disturb order in the polling station as a result may be expelled," warns the guidance.

And if a voter's face is obscured by their costume or by make-up, officials may ask them to remove it to establish their identity.

Polling stations may be decorated for carnival, providing it doesn't include political messaging, but loud carnival music is not allowed.

German voters are voting on Sunday after a tense campaign that broke with the consensus politics that postwar Germany has been used to.

Opinion polls show that the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is on track to become second-biggest party in the lower house of Germany's parliament, or the Bundestag.

But the AfD has been shunned by other major parties, including the conservative Friedrich Merz. The CDU/CSU candidate is the frontrunner to become Germany's next chancellor and he has repeatedly stated he would not work with the AfD.

Merz's previous moves in relation to the AfD sparked anger and massive demonstrations across Germany. He was heavily criticized after he relied on AfD support in a recent parliamentary vote to push through a non-binding motion against immigration.

In this constellation, smaller parties are likely to emerge as kingmakers. Fractions of a percentage point could determine whether the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP), the socialist Left Party, and the populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) net around 5% of votes required to enter parliament.

DW experts explain the stakes in the video below.

The build-up to this year's German election has seen unprecedented levels of foreign interference, in particular from right-wing politicians and social media technocrats in the United States.

Elon Musk, owner of X, formerly Twitter, and senior adviser to US President Donald Trump, has used his platform to explicitly back the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) on several occasions, while Vice-President JD Vance has also expressed his support.

But why does the new US administration like the AfD? DW's Melinda Crane explains.