Germans in the state of Brandenburg were voting in a regional election on Sunday with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) expected to finish first, building on successes in other eastern states and beating Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats in one of their traditional strongholds.

The SPD won 30.9% of the vote, while the AfD came second with 29.2% - The Bundesrat (BSW) and the Christian Democrats are the other two parties entering parliament

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats were narrowly ahead of the far-right AfD Sunday in a state election in the formerly communist east, according to exit polls.

By Sarah Marsh BERLIN (Reuters) -Polls opened on Sunday in the German state of Brandenburg, where the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is projected to finish first, aiming to build on recent successes in other eastern states and surpass Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats in this traditional stronghold.

After two landmark state election wins for the AfD party, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's SPD party halted the far-right faction's momentum with a close victory in Brandenburg state on Sunday.

Alternative for Germany (AfD) is the first far-right political party to win a state election in Germany since World War II.

Germans began casting ballots Sunday for a regional election in a formerly communist eastern state where the far-right AfD party is narrowly ahead in opinion polls.

First projections in state elections in the eastern German state of Brandenburg give the Social Democrats a slim lead over the far-right AfD in the race to be the largest party. Follow DW for more.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party could spell an end to Social Democrats' recent dominance in the region of Brandenburg this weekend. CGTN’s Peter Oliver speaks to voters ahead of the state election.