Germany to elect new chancellor, elections afoot

Polls have already opened in Germany as voters choose a new parliament. The outcome will determine who gets to replace Angela Merkel after almost 16 years as chancellor.

The three candidates vying to succeed the chancellor voted in warm late-summer sunshine, as final polls put Mrs Merkel's conservatives in second place.

At stake is the leadership of Europe's most powerful economy.

More than 60 million Germans over 18 are eligible to vote and long queues were reported outside polling stations in Berlin.