Polling stations opened at 8 a.m. (0700GMT) at nearly 90,000 locations across the country and will close at 6 p.m. (1700GMT), Anadolu Agency reported.
More than 59 million German citizens are eligible to vote in the elections, including 2.3 million first-time voters, according to official data. The electorate leans heavily on the older side, with 42% of voters aged 60 or above, compared to just 13% under 30.
Over 7 million eligible voters have immigrant backgrounds, including more than 1 million German citizens of Turkish origin.
While some Germans have already submitted their mail-in ballots, thousands of citizens living abroad have reported on social media that their postal voting documents have not arrived in time.
Opposition leader Friedrich Merz's Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) are favored to win the election, though they are not expected to gain enough seats to form a government on their own.
The latest INSA polling data shows the center-right CDU/CSU alliance commanding 29.5% of voter support, maintaining more than 14-point lead over Chancellor Olaf Scholz's struggling Social Democratic Party (SPD).
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has reached 21% in the latest poll, setting up for its strongest federal election performance yet and positioning itself as the second-most powerful political force in the country.
A survey released Thursday showed that nearly 27% of voters remained undecided just days before the election, unsure whether to vote or which party to support.
SD/
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