Polling stations in Germany opened today, Sunday morning, for a legislative election with unpredicted results.

The Social Democrats and the conservatives are in a tight race to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has been in power since 2005, but intends to resign after the new government is formed.

The voters, numbering about 60.4 million, were called to cast their ballots until 16:00 GMT to elect their representatives.

Around 40 percent of Germany's eligible voters have said they are undecided.

The latest opinion surveys indicated that the Social Democrats, led by Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, have a slight lead with 25% of the votes, compared to 22-23% for the conservatives led by Armin Laschet - the lowest historical percentage for Merkel's party.

In case the percentages were close, the leading parties will undergo consultations with each other before negotiating over forming a coalition, which may take months.