Polls open in Germany for crucial national election

German voters are casting their ballots in a national election, featuring incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz and opposition leader Friedrich Merz. This election also includes candidates from the Green Party and the far-right AfD for the first time. Polling stations opened at 8 a.m. local time and will close at 6 p.m. Over 59 million citizens are eligible to vote, including about 2.3 million first-time voters. This election was called seven months early after Scholz's coalition collapsed in November, marking only the fourth early dissolution of the Bundestag since World War II.