Voters in two eastern German states are expected to vote in elections where they are expected to take a strong turnout.
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) was leading the polls in Thuringia ahead of Sunday’s vote, while the party has been running neck-and-neck for first place with the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Saxony.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) and its allies have been struggling in recent elections.
On Saturday, thousands of protesters gathered in Thuringia’s state capital, Erfurt, denouncing the anti-immigrant AfD as fascist. The AfD says Germany needs to deport illegal immigrants.
Polling stations in both German states are scheduled to open at 08:00 local time (06:00 GMT).
In Thuringia, the AfD is expected to emerge as the largest party.
Meanwhile, the SPD – and its Green and Liberal coalition partners – performed poorly in Thuringia, possibly failing to get even a single seat in the state parliament.
The AfD is officially considered far-right in Thuringia, and its controversial regional leader Björn Höcke was recently fined for using a Nazi slogan – although he denies knowingly doing so.
In Saxony, the AfD is tied for first place with the CDU.
Last week’s knife attack in western Germany, where a Syrian refugee and suspected Islamist, was accused of killing three people, it has fueled strong criticism of the way successive governments have handled migration.
Even if the AfD emerges as the largest party in both states, it does not mean that it will take power, as other political parties have openly refused to work with it to form a majority.
Nevertheless, the results of the vote will be seen as a litmus test before the German general election in 2025.
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