Exit polls show the center-right Christian Democratic Union party leading, with the AfD party heading towards the strongest showing of the far-right since World War II.

German voters cast their ballots in Sunday’s election, and early exit poll data shows opposition leader Friedrich Merz’s conservatives in the lead. It also indicates that Alternative for Germany is heading for the strongest showing for a far-right party since World War II.

Polls are open across Germany as the world’s third largest economy chooses a new leader to guide it through an era of febrile immigration debates and souring relations with Washington.