Voting in Hesse state election underway

Voters in Germany’s federal state of Hesse are heading to the polls to choose 110 members of the regional parliament. The election is seen as a serious challenge for Angela Merkel’s ruling coalition. Her Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) is currently leading the coalition government in Hesse with the Greens. The Social Democrats (SPD), the Left (Die Linke), the Free Democrats (FDP), and the Alternative for Germany (AfD) are also competing for seats in the local parliament.