Merkel coalition losing in German election

BERLIN, May 9 (UPI) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling party Sunday apparently lost a key regional election in North Rhine-Westphalia, projections showed.

A defeat for Merkel and her center-right coalition allies, the Free Democrats, would cost the chancellor her majority in the upper house of the German Parliament, the Bundesrat, the BBC reported. With a population of 18 million, North Rhine-Westphalia is Germany's most populous state and the election results could be bad news for Merkel's unpopular decision to contribute to $28.6 billion to a European Union financial rescue package for debt-strapped Greece.

Exit polls by ZDF television showed the Christian Democrats with 34.3 percent of the vote, and the Free Democrats with 6.6 percent, while the opposition Social Democrats had 34.5 percent, the BBC said.