After 16 years as Germany’s chancellor, Merkel will step down once it is clear who her successor will be

Several of the party leaders called on the public to head to polling stations and cast their ballots in the parliamentary elections in Germany on Sunday.

The CDU’s Armin Laschet told reporters: “We all feel that this is a very important federal election, an election that decides the direction of Germany in the next few years, and that is why every vote counts, and that is why I hope that everyone will use their right to go to the polls, so that democrats can elect a new government in the end.”

Olaf Scholz, leader of the left-leaning SPD, said he hoped Germans would give him the mandate to become the next chancellor.

“Now I hope that as many citizens as possible will go to the polls and cast their votes and make possible what has become apparent, namely that there will be a very strong result for the SPD. And that the citizens give me the mandate to become the next chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,” he said.

Meanwhile, Annalena Baerbock, the chancellory candidate for the Green Party, also made some brief remarks after casting her vote in her hometown of Potsdam on Sunday afternoon.

She asked people to cast their votes in order to enter a new era and emphasized the importance of democracy.  

“Every vote will count in this election, as we have seen in the last few weeks and how close it will be. Of course, we hope for a few more votes in view of the poll results so that we can create a real new beginning in this country,” she said.