Berlin voters head to the polls

Polling stations opened at 8 a.m. (0600 UTC) in the German capital, where some 2.5 million people are eligible to cast ballots for the city's assembly.

Opinion polls have forecast big gains for the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. The AfD campaigned heavily on migration, seeking to capitalize on a popular backlash against Chancellor Angela Merkel's open-door refugee policy which led to an influx of more than 1 million asylum seekers into Germany last year.

Polling also suggests the Social Democrats (SPD) led by Berlin Mayor Michael Müller, will remain the biggest party in the regional assembly, with a predicted 24 percent of the vote.

The SPD has ruled the state for the past five years in a coalition with Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), but that's likely to be replaced by a three-party coalition possibly comprised of the SPD, the Greens and the Left Party.

The expected swing against the CDU could see Merkel's party in a tight race for second against the Greens, with both groups expected to get around 18 percent of the vote.

The AfD is polling around 14 percent, an outcome that would allow it to enter its 10th regional assembly out of 16 German states.

Berlin Mayor Müller warned voters against supporting the AfD in the leadup to Sunday's vote, warning that a double-digit score for the party would change the political landscape of the city and be seen around the world as the rebirth of the Nazis.

The 1,800 polling stations set up across the city-state of Berlin are due to close at 6 p.m. local time (1600 UTC) with exit polls expected soon afterwards.

nm/rc (AFP, dpa, Reuters)