The state election in Lower Saxony is the last in the current year. In recent polls, the SPD was ahead. Voter turnout at midday was slightly lower than five years ago. All developments in the live blog.
4:50 p.m
Voter turnout slightly lower than 2017
By 12.30 p.m. in Lower Saxony, 24.59 percent of those entitled to vote had cast their votes for the new state parliament. This was announced by the state election authority on request.
For comparison: In the previous state election in 2017, the turnout at midday was 26.91 percent. Postal voters are not included in the information. At the first evaluation in the morning, the number of voters was 7.44 percent, slightly below the value of five years ago (8.21 percent).
4:40 p.m
Lead candidates vote
The top candidates of the major parties already cast their votes in the morning. Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) said: “We hope for a high turnout. And we hope for a strong result for the SPD.” After going to the polling station in Hanover, he wanted “to have a nice breakfast first.”
Challenger and Vice Country Head Bernd Althusmann from the CDU had already started in the morning. “After all, my daughter turned twelve today, which means we had every reason to celebrate this morning,” said the politician when he visited the polling station in Südergellersen (Lüneburg district). With regard to the election, he emphasized that the task now is to govern the country in a stable manner in a serious crisis. “That’s why I hope and I’m counting on a strong CDU, which I want to be the strongest force in Lower Saxony from 6 p.m. tonight.”
Prime Minister Stephan Weil
Image: AFP
Vice Country Manager Bernd Althusmann
Image: dpa
The opposition candidates, Green Party leader Julia Willie Hamburg and FDP leader Stefan Birkner, also cast their votes early. Both want their factions to become part of the state government again.
4:29 p.m
What you should know about the election in Lower Saxony
Rarely has a state election been overshadowed by federal political issues as in Lower Saxony. The country itself has enough to offer – including political construction sites. Who is competing and what else is important.