Early elections to the Bundestag began in Germany on Sunday, February 23.
Deutsche Welle writes about this.
More than 59 million German citizens can vote. About 65 000 polling stations are operating in the country on this day. There are 299 electoral districts in Germany. 29 parties are participating in the election race.
According to polls conducted on the eve of the election, the most support among respondents was for the conservative CDU/CSU bloc, which nominated Friedrich Merz as its candidate for chancellor.
In second place, according to polls, was the far-right Alternative for Germany, followed by the Social Democratic Party of Germany, to which the current Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz belongs.
What preceded
In early November 2023, Scholz dismissed Finance Minister Christian Lindner, accusing him of irresponsibility, selfishness, and acting only in the interests of his Free Democratic Party—one of three in the governmentʼs governing coalition. Lindner informed that the Free Democrats were leaving the coalition and taking all of their ministers with them.
Scholz made the decision due to differences with Lindner on budgetary, financial and economic policy. German media reported that the three-party coalition could not decide what to do with the 2025 budget.
This led to a political crisis in Germany, which eventually led to early elections. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called the elections for February 23.
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