Polls open in Germany’s Hamburg with centre-left SPD expected to win

Polls opened in the northern German city-state of Hamburg on Sunday, just one week after the country held national elections.

Polling stations opened at 8 am (0700 GMT) and are due to close at 6 pm in what is set to be Germany’s only election at the state level this year.

Hamburg is one of Germany’s three city-states, alongside Berlin and Bremen.

The Social Democratic Party (SPD) – which suffered a crushing defeat in last Sunday’s federal election – is expected to remain the biggest force in the port city, with Mayor Peter Tschentscher hoping for another coalition with the Greens.

Almost 1.3 million residents are eligible to vote in Hamburg, where the voting age is 16.

Just under a third of those eligible to vote are likely to have already cast their ballot.

According to the state electoral office, more than 420,000 postal voting documents had already been issued by Friday – significantly more than during the last Hamburg election five years ago.