BERLIN - Voters in two former East German states began casting ballots on Sunday in elections expected to deal a blow to Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government and deliver big gains for the far-right AfD.
The contests in Thuringia and Saxony come just over a week after three people were killed in a suspected Islamist attack, which has fuelled a bitter debate over immigration in Germany.
Opinion polls have the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) ahead in Thuringia and a close second in Saxony, while also predicting a strong showing for the upstart far-left BSW.
The two parties have found a receptive audience in the eastern states for their criticism of the government in Berlin and of military aid to Ukraine.
An election victory for the AfD would be a landmark in Germany's post-war history and represent a rebuke for Scholz ahead of national elections in 2025.
In both states, Scholz's Social Democrats are polling at around six percent, while their coalition partners, the Greens and the liberal FDP, lag even further behind.
But even if the AfD does come out on top in the elections, it is unlikely to come to power because other parties have ruled out working with the far right to form a government.
Voting stations close at 6pm, with the first exit polls expected shortly after.