German election: Voters head to the polls, then to Twitter
A couple makes their way past election posters featuring German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin September 17, 2013. Germany goes to the polls in general elections on September 22, 2013.
Germany's election kicked off on Sunday, starting at voting booths and then sweeping social media.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is trying for a third four-year term in the nation's first big vote since the financial crisis began to seriously destabilize the European economy.
Merkel's pro-euro views have been controversial in Germany.
More from GlobalPost: Germany Votes: The Road Trip
Merkel is being challenged by the center-left Social Democrats party (SPD), led by Peer Steinbrueck, as well as a potential coalition of leftist and Green parties, according to BBC News.
Sunday's vote could push Merkel into a partnership with the SPD if her ruling coalition — the Christian Democrats and the Free Democrats — do not secure enough seats in parliament.
The election in Germany, a nation seen as a leading policymaker in European affairs, is being closely watched.
Here's how that's been going down on Twitter: