State election in Germany

COLOGNE, Germany, May 22 (UPI) -- Some 13 million people in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state, were eligible to vote in Sunday's state election.

The election, considered a bellwether for next year's national general election, may end 39 years of government control by the Social Democrats, the BBC reported.

Polls show the conservative opposition, the Christian Democrats, may oust the ruling party on the issues of 1 million people unemployed and unpopular, wide-ranging welfare reforms.

Although some late polls showed the Social Democrats narrowing the gap, a loss for Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's Social Democrats would be a blow to the German leader.