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.

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.