GERMANY-ELECTIONS-LOWER-SAXONY

The picture of German politician Stephan Weil (SPD) is seen on an election poster next to a half torn one of the incumbent State Premier David McAllister the day after the elections in Hanover, northern Germany on January 21, 2013.Germany's centre-left opposition beat Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling alliance Sunday in a cliffhanger state poll eight months ahead of a national election, estimates on public television showed. In one of the tightest German state races in recent memory, the Social Democrats together with the Greens eked out a one-seat lead in Lower Saxony in northwestern Germany, just ahead of the incumbent coalition of Merkel's Christian Democrats with the Free Democrats. AFP PHOTO / ODD ANDERSEN (Photo credit should read ODD ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty Images)