Polls opened in Luxembourg at 8am on a rainy Sunday morning in what could be a close general election.
20.10.2013
(CS) Polls opened in Luxembourg at 8am on a rainy Sunday morning in what could be a close general election.
No favourites have been declared ahead of the elections and several outcomes appear possible.
In televised debates, the junior coalition partner LSAP, the Green party and the DP had announced that they would be willing to discuss a so-called Gambia coalition, should they be able to reach a majority in parliament together.
Whether Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker's CSV would form a coalition with the LSAP again also remains up in the air.
Additionally, several parties are vying to enter parliament for the very first time. These include the newly formed PID and the Pirate Party, which was created in Luxembourg after the 2009 elections.
The Communist party KPL also had no seats in the last Chambre des Députés.
In total, Luxembourg's parliament counts 60 seats. After the last elections in 2009, the CSV held 26 seats, forming a coalition with the LSAP (13 seats).
Next was the DP with nine seats, followed by "déi Gréng" with 7 seats. "Déi Lénk" held one seat until parliament was dissolved earlier this month. Four seats were held by the ADR, however, two MPs split from the party last year but continued in parliament as independent representatives.
Voters can present themselves at their local polling station until 2pm on Sunday, with smaller communes expected to announce their results later in the afternoon. There are 628 this year.
In total, 238,587 voters were registered for the 2013 elections. Across Luxembourg, 540 candidates are running for 60 seats in parliament.
First projections could arrive as early as 7pm. However, should the election be a close one, a definitive result might not be announced until closer to midnight.
Wort.lu/en will be reporting throughout the day and we will be live on site at the RTL and "Luxemburger Wort" election event at Luxexpo.