Free Voters

Free Voters

Freie Wähler
Free Voters Freie Wähler
Abbreviation	FW
Chairman	Hubert Aiwanger
Deputy Chairpersons	Manfred Petry; Gabi Schmidt; Gregor Voht; Engin Eroglu; Denise Wendt
Federal Managing Director	Arnold Hansen
Federal Treasurer	Christa Hudyma
Founded	1965 (as Bundesverband); 24 January 2009 (as a party)
Headquarters	Mühlenstraße 13, Ganderkesee, Germany
Youth wing	Young Free Voters
Membership (2020)	6,225
Ideology	Regionalism; Liberal conservatism;
Political position	Centre-right
European affiliation	European Democratic Party
European Parliament group	Renew Europe
Colours	Orange; Azure
State parliaments	38 / 1,889
European Parliament	2 / 96
Website
	www.freiewaehler.eu
	Politics of Germany; Political parties; Elections;

Free Voters (German: Freie Wähler, FW) is a centre-right^[5] political party in Germany. The party originates as an umbrella organisation of several Free Voters Associations (Freie Wählergemeinschaften), associations of people which participate in an election without having the status of a registered party. These associations are usually locally-organised groups of voters in the form of a registered association (eV). In most cases, Free Voters campaign only at local government level, standing for city councils and for mayoralties. Free Voters tend to achieve their most successful electoral results in rural areas of southern Germany, appealing most to conservative voters who prefer local decisions to party politics. Free Voter groups are active in all of the states of Germany.

^ "Unterrichtung durch die Präsidentin des Deutschen Bundestages" (PDF). Deutscher Bundestag. 15 June 2022. p. 19. Am 31. Dezember des Rechnungsjahres waren 6.225 Personen Mitglieder der Partei. (On 31 December of the financial year, 6,225 people were members of the party.)
^ Lisa Peyer, Jörg Hebenstreit, Dr. Tim Niendorfer (15 August 2022). "FREIE WÄHLER" (in German). Retrieved 7 February 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ Sylvia Kritzinger; Carolina Plescia; SKolja Raube; James Wilhelm; Jan Wouters, eds. (2020). Assessing the 2019 European Parliament Elections. Taylor & Francis. p. 263. ISBN 9781000057263. As in 2014, seven minor parties with vote shares below 5 per cent gained seats in the European Parliament, ranging from single-issue parties like the Animal Protection Party (one seat) or the Family Party (one seat) to the satirical 'Die Partei' (two seats) or the liberal-conservative 'Free Voters'.
^ "Free Voters — What you need to know". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
^ Eric Langenbacher (2022). The German Polity: Twelfth Edition. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 315. ISBN 978-1-53-814661-3.

[1] "Unterrichtung durch die Präsidentin des Deutschen Bundestages" (PDF). Deutscher Bundestag. 15 June 2022. p. 19. Am 31. Dezember des Rechnungsjahres waren 6.225 Personen Mitglieder der Partei. (On 31 December of the financial year, 6,225 people were members of the party.)

[2] Lisa Peyer, Jörg Hebenstreit, Dr. Tim Niendorfer (15 August 2022). "FREIE WÄHLER" (in German). Retrieved 7 February 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[Kritzinger2019-3] Sylvia Kritzinger; Carolina Plescia; SKolja Raube; James Wilhelm; Jan Wouters, eds. (2020). Assessing the 2019 European Parliament Elections. Taylor & Francis. p. 263. ISBN 9781000057263. As in 2014, seven minor parties with vote shares below 5 per cent gained seats in the European Parliament, ranging from single-issue parties like the Animal Protection Party (one seat) or the Family Party (one seat) to the satirical 'Die Partei' (two seats) or the liberal-conservative 'Free Voters'.

[4] "Free Voters — What you need to know". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 17 April 2023.

[Langenbacher2022-5] Eric Langenbacher (2022). The German Polity: Twelfth Edition. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 315. ISBN 978-1-53-814661-3.

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