German voters go to the polls Sunday to elect a new parliament that will determine how the country is run for the next four years. Europe’s biggest economy is the 27-nation European Union’s most populous nation and a leading member of NATO, as well as the second-biggest weapons supplier to Ukraine, after the United States, following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Germany’s next government will be central to Europe’s response to an assertive new US administration. Here’s a look at what to expect for Sunday and beyond. Polls are due to open at 8 a.m. and close at 6 p.m.. Germans can also vote by postal ballot, but their ballot must arrive by the time polling stations close on election day to be counted. Exit polls will come and vote-counting will begin immediately after voting ends, and the general picture of the outcome should be clear very quickly. A final official result is expected early Monday. Four candidates are running to be Germany´s next leader: incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz, of the center-left Social Democrats; Friedrich Merz, the candidate of the mainstream conservative Christian Democratic Union party; current Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, of the environmentalist Greens; and Alice Weidel, of the far-right, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany, or AfD.