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Turnout of German polls at 41 percent so far -- commission

BERLIN, Sept 24 (KUNA) -- Voters' turn up at ballot stations has reached 41.1 percent since the centers opened early on Sunday starting the nation election of the 19th parliament (Bundestag), the electoral commission said.
The commission indicated in a statement that the turnout same time in the 2013 polls reached 41.4 percent.
The electorate is estimated 61.5 million.
The Germans are voting for choosing the party that would represent them in the legislative assembly in the next four years.
Six political parties are vying for parliamentary seats; most notably Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which comprises the Christian Democratic Party (CDU) as well as the Social Democratic Party (SPD) of Martin Shulz, an ex-chairman of the European Parliament.
Other contestants are the liberals led by Christian Lindner, the Greens chaired by Cem Ozdemir and Katrin Goring-Eckardt, the leftists and the hardline Alternative for Germany party.
The CDU, which has been chairing the cabinet since 2005, is expected to win lion's share of the votes and form the next government.
The union was established in end of the World War II when it was chaired by Konrad Adenauer, who also headed the government between 1949 and 1963. It was credited for post-war reconstruction of the nation.
It is focusing the electoral campaign on security, economic issues and conservative values.
The union has ruled Germany since 2005 with a broad coalition including the Social Democrats, except for the period between 2009 and 2013, when it governed in a coalition with the liberals.
The Social Democratic Party had substantial experience in heading governments in the 60s and 70s, particularly when it was led by Willy Brandt and Helmut Schmidt. The couple masterminded dialogue with the defunct Warsaw states. Their colleague, Gerhard Schroder, was architect of fundamental economic reforms between 1998 and 2005, which immunized the nation against the global economic crisis that broke out in 2007.
The Left Party, established in 2007, is considered successor to the Communist Party that had ruled the defunct East Germany. It largely represents workers and low-income citizens and is mostly active in the eastern parts of the nation.
The Greens party, established in the 80s, succeeded between 1998 and 2005 in co-leading the government with the Social Democrats.
The National Liberal Party was founded after World War II. It became particularly prominent on the political stage during Helmut Kohl's era when its representative Hans-Dietrich Genscher took over the foreign affairs' portfolio.
The Alternative for Germany was established in 2013. It succeeded in local polls held last year in occupying seats in parliaments of 12 states, particularly in the eastern part.
It advocates opposition to the European Union and the single European currency, the euro. Its popularity has dwindled after it campaigned against immigrants and Muslims.
Hardline parties have not occupied parliamentary seats since founding modern Germany in 1949.
According to polls, the CDU will garner bulk of the votes, followed by its arch foe, the SDP, thus the union will most likely be empowered to form a new government for a four-year term.
According to polls, conducted by the local television network, ARD, the CDU will win 37 percent of the votes, followed by the SDP, forecast to pocket some 26 percent of the ballots.
The four other contending parties; the leftists, the greens, the liberals and the hardline Alternative for Germany (AFD) will get nine-12 percent. (end) anj.rk