Berlin: German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives look set to suffer a second electoral blow in two weeks in a Berlin city vote on Sunday as voters are expected to express their unease with her refugee-friendly policy. Voting in the German capital started at 8 am (0600 GMT) and some 2.5 million people are eligible to decide who should represent them in the Berlin city assembly. Polling stations will close at 6 pm (1600 GMT) and public broadcasters will publish exit polls shortly afterwards. That would likely raise the pressure further on Merkel one year before a federal election and could deepen divisions within her conservative camp. The SPD, Merkel’s junior coalition partner at the federal level, wants to form a coalition with the Greens and, if needed, the leftist Die Linke.

Source: Mint September 18, 2016 10:52 UTC