Turnout at Election in Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia Surpasses 30%

A total of 34 percent of voters have cast ballots as of 11:00 GMT in the elections of the local parliament in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the election commission said Sunday.

BERLIN (Sputnik) — According to the commission, the current turnout is five percent higher than in 2012 elections. The overall number of voters registered in the federal state reaches 13.1 million. The polling stations are open until 6.00 p.m. (17:00 GMT).

The result of the elections is difficult to predict since the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Christian Democratic Union party (CDU) have been enjoying the same percentage of popular support as the public opinion polls showed.

In 2012, the SPD won the elections receiving 39.1 percent of votes and created a coalition with Germany's Alliance 90/The Greens party. Many experts view the elections in North Rhine-Westphalia as an indicator ahead of the upcoming nationwide parliamentary elections, which are due to take place on September 24.