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Free voter chief Hubert Aiwanger (archive image)
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Sven Hoppe / dpa
According to the party, free voter boss Hubert Aiwanger does not have to fear a fine because of a controversial tweet on numbers on the day of the federal election. After a message from the Federal Returning Officer on Tuesday, it was clear that there would be no administrative offense proceedings against Aiwanger, the Free Voters announced in Munich in the evening. The tweet on election day on Aiwanger's Twitter profile was therefore not subject to a fine. "The numbers that were circulated, which were only on the account for a few minutes, were also not numbers from a post-election survey," it said in a message. The Free Voters said nothing about where the numbers came from.
On Aiwanger's Twitter account, party numbers were published on the day of the federal election before the polling stations closed, allegedly as of 3 p.m., with an explicit reference to the research group Elections.
This was also combined with an election call for the free voters - but in the end they clearly failed because of the five percent hurdle.
Aiwanger was then sharply attacked not only by the political opponent, but also by its own coalition partner, the CSU.
Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) also demanded an apology - Aiwanger complied with the demand and apologized in the state parliament.
According to the federal electoral law, the publication of voter surveys before the polling stations are closed is an administrative offense for which there is a risk of a fine of up to 50,000 euros.
sol / dpa / afp
