Polls will close at 6 p.m. local time (12 p.m. EST), and it will likely become clear in the ensuing hours which party has the highest share of votes. Determining who will lead as chancellor will take longer, as it first has to be determined which parties will control the Bundestag, and then the leader is chosen by its members.

Polls are open across Germany as the world’s third largest economy chooses a new leader to guide it through an era of febrile immigration debates and souring relations with Washington.

Conservative Friedrich Merz is expected to win but the far-right AfD is poised to become second biggest political force.