A woman casts her ballot at a polling station in Berlin, Germany, on Sept. 24, 2017. More than 61 million German voters were called to cast ballots on Sunday to pick their Bundestag, or federal parliament, on which a new government will be formed. (Xinhua/Luo Huanhuan)
BERLIN, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- More than 61 million German voters were called to cast ballots on Sunday to pick their Bundestag, or federal parliament, on which a new government will be formed.
About 73,500 polling stations across the country opened at 8:00 a.m. local time (0600 GMT) and will be closed at 6:00 p.m. (1600 GMT).
Polling institutions will interview voters anonymously at the exit of selected polling stations, and will publish the initial results exactly after the election ends.
GLOBALL ATTENTION
In a chilly morning with drizzle at a polling in Wedding Borough, people coming to vote were mainly senior citizens, most of who were concerned about refugee issues and pension, but refused to elaborate their opinions.
"We work too long. We have to retire at 67 years old to get our pensions," said a voter anonymously to Xinhua.
At a bustling polling station in Mitte, center of Berlin, two civil servants working at the station said they cared about the foreign policy of Germany's new government, hoping that the country can play a more actively in addressing the root causes of terrorism.
Volunteers at polling stations were also busy calculating ballots which had been cast by many voters via post. About 30 percent vote had cast their ballots, higher than that of 24.3 percent four years ago.
According to official statistics, participation of the election is higher than that of the last federal election four years ago in Hamburg, Munich and other major cities.
German election drew global attention in the midst of a series of surprises such as the Brexit, the U.S. presidential election. At the press center for the election, many journalists were waiting in queue for registration.
With a huge number of journalists' application, German Federal Press Office has to limit the number of reporters joining some election events.
At Humboldt University Berlin, the polling station was filled with journalists waiting for German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her husband to vote Sunday afternoon.
MERKEL'S PARTY POISED TO WIN
According to latest opinion polls right before the election, Merkel's CDU/CSU conservative union is expected to win most votes. The Union is now enjoying about 13-percentage point lead over the Social Democratic Party (SPD), its major rival.
Some voters believed that in the midst of many uncertainties, Merkel can maintain a stable Germany and even the European Union.
Jupp Heynckes, former coach of Bayern Munich, told the German newspaper Bild on Sunday that he planned to choose CDU.
"Angela Merkel is trusted around the world. Her word carries weight and is valid. It strengthens our reputation. For Germany, our security and our economy is the greatest asset," Heynckes was quoted as saying.
Although a young voter did not say which party he voted for, he said many of his friends went to vote on Sunday because "we don't want to see that Germans elect a leader like U.S. President Donald Trump".
SPD leader and former European Parliament president Martin Schulz cast his ballot in his hometown Wurselen Sunday morning. He published on Facebook a video clip, saying, "SPD received my votes, but it's not enough. Now it's up to you, no you must go to vote."
German President Steinmeier cast his vote in Berlin's Zehlendorf.
POSSIBLE BREAKTHROUGH BY FAR-RIGHT AFD
It is also expected to see the far-right anti-immigration party Alternative for Germany (AfD) enter the parliament for the first time since World War II.
German election rule sets a five-percent-vote hurdle for parties to be elected in the Bundestag. The AfD almost entered the Bundestag in 2013 federal election in which it won 4.7 percent of votes.
The far-right is enjoying a double-digit support rates in latest polling results, far beyond the five-percent threshold, and in all of the three surveys published on Friday, the AfD was listed as the third strongest party.
"There is nothing to worry about even if the AfD becomes the third largest party in the Bundestag, because their terrible right-wing rhetoric should be heard, too," said Fred Hess, a 49-year-old voter branded him as a liberal conservative.
"As long as they are not the majority," Hess added.
Based on a slightly modified proportional representation, election in Germany is different from that of the United States or France.
Each voter has two votes, the first of which is for a candidate in his or her constituency, and the second for a state list of candidates put up by a particular party. Therefore, the second vote is more important to distribute the base number of 598 seats in the Bundestag.
Sometimes a party will receive more seats through the first vote than they deserve according to the party vote. Since each candidate who wins a constituency is guaranteed a seat, the party gets to maintain those "overhang" seats.
Other parties then also get more seats to make up for this, ultimately making the parliament larger than its base number of 598 seats. The incumbent Bundestag have a total of 630 seats.
The next Bundestag could be as large as ever before. Political scientist Joachim Behnke told Deutsche Press Agency that about 680 to 700 seats are expected in the new parliament.
