Ursula Becker

Race wide open as Germany votes in post-Merkel election

Germans voted on Sept. 26 in one of the most unpredictable elections in its recent history, with Angela Merkel's conservatives and the center-left Social Democrats in a tight race for her crown as she prepares to leave the political stage.

The epochal election ushers in the end of 16 years in power for Merkel and places Germany, a byword for stability, in a new period of uncertainty.