Merkel's party dips in poll before vote

Angela Merkel's conservatives dropped one percentage point in a poll released yesterday, three days before a German election in which the chancellor is expected to win a fourth term, while the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) gained two points.

The GMS poll put Merkel's bloc on 37 percent with her main opponent, the Social Democrats (SDP), unchanged on 22 percent.

The AfD, poised to enter the Bundestag lower house for the first time, rose to 10 percent with the pro-business Free Democrats and radical Left both on 9 percent and Greens on 8 percent.