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German voters prepare to elect a new parliament. Here's what to expect on and after election day

Associated Press

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FILE - Election posters showing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, right, and CDU top candidate for chancellor Friedrich Merz in Frankfurt, Germany, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)
FILE - Opposition Christian Union parties floor leader Friedrich Merz, right, speaks, as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, listens during a general debate on the budget at the German parliament Bundestag in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)
FILE - The Reichstag building, house of German parliament Bundestag in Berlin, June 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)
Snow covers the ground in front of the Reichstag building, home of the German parliament Bundestag in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
FILE - In this Friday, Nov. 29, 2019 file photo, German national flags catch the sun on top of the German parliament building, the Reichstag building in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Sept. 26, 2021.(Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)
FILE - The Chancellery with the office of the German chancellors reflected in a puddle from a sprinkler on a sunny day in Berlin, Germany, June 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber), File
FILE - General view inside the empty plenary hall of the German parliament Bundestag at the Reichstag building in Berlin, Germany, Nov. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)
FILE - In this Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019 file photo German lawmakers attend a special parliament session at the Reichstag building, host of the German federal parliament, Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)
FILE - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks during a general debate of the German parliament Bundestag in Berlin, Germany, Sept.11, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)
FILE - Election posters, showing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, right, and CDU top candidate Friedrich Merz, stand on a meadow in Nieder-Erlenbach near Frankfurt, Germany, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)
FILE - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stands behind a reflection of the European flag in a window, as he waits for the arrival of Iraq's Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Jan. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)
FILE - Germany Election What to KnowFriedrich Merz, CDU candidate for chancellor and CDU federal chairman, right, attends the 37th federal party conference of the CDU in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Feb.3, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

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FILE - Election posters showing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, right, and CDU top candidate for chancellor Friedrich Merz in Frankfurt, Germany, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)