In the best autumn weather, people in the German state of Lower Saxony made their way to the polling stations on Sunday. A similar number of people as five years ago cast their votes in the morning. At 10 a.m., the turnout was 7.44 percent, as the state election management announced. Five years earlier, the figure was 8.21 percent. A tight race between SPD and CDU was expected.
Postal voters, many of whom are expected this year, are not yet included in the interim results. Almost 6.1 million people are allowed to take part in the election. Polling stations are open until 6 p.m.
In the 2017 election, the turnout was 63.1 percent, following 59.4 percent in 2013. The highest figure so far was 84.4 percent in 1974, the lowest was recorded in 2008 with 57.1 percent.
Hoping for a new edition of red-green
The SPD and CDU are currently governing in a grand coalition led by Prime Minister Stephan Weil. The SPD politician is aiming for a third term, but hopes for a new edition of red-green. Weil had already led such an alliance from 2013 to 2017. CDU top candidate Bernd Althusmann, currently Economics Minister, does not rule out another grand coalition.
In the most recent polls, the SPD (31 to 32 percent) was just ahead of the CDU (27 to 30 percent), followed by the Greens (16 to 19 percent). The AfD (nine to eleven percent) might improve to a double-digit result, the FDP (five percent) must tremble regarding staying in the state parliament in Hanover. The left (three to four percent) was just below the five percent hurdle.
The all-determining issue in the election campaign was the energy crisis, which is why the Lower Saxony elections are also being watched with great excitement in Berlin. The CDU in particular also declared the election to be a vote on the crisis policy of the German traffic light coalition.
Federal-state summit without result
During the election campaign, the SPD relied heavily on Prime Minister Weil’s popularity ratings. In polls on the preferred prime minister – Weil or Althusmann – the SPD man was regularly well ahead of his challenger. Thanks in part to this official bonus, the polls for the SPD in Lower Saxony are significantly better than in the federal government.
However, a few days before the election, Weil had to put up with a setback when he chaired a federal-state summit on the energy crisis without a result – grist to the mill of the CDU, which accuses the German government around Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) of not having a clear one plan to address energy concerns.
In the 2017 state elections, the SPD (36.9 percent) was the strongest force, followed by the CDU (33.6 percent), the Greens (8.7 percent), the FDP (7.5 percent) and the AfD (6.2 percent). . The left narrowly missed entering the state parliament in Hanover with 4.6 percent. Voter turnout was 63.1 percent.
It is unclear whether concerns regarding rising prices will particularly motivate voters to go to the polls this time, or whether they will be discouraged from doing so. However, a higher proportion of postal votes than in the past state elections is expected. The state parliament is elected for five years. (apa)