German court bans popular voting advice app Wahl-O-Mat

May 20, 2019

Wahl-O-Mat (vote-o-meter) Germany’s official voting advice application (VAA), was banned on Monday by a court in Cologne until the Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb) revises its software.

The court said that Wahl-O-Mat offered advice about up to eight political parties, which was a disadvantage for smaller and more unknown parties. Its display mechanism thus violates the constitutional right to equal opportunities, it added. The fringe party Volt Deutschland had triggered the legal proceedings, arguing that the app didn’t provide adequate “access to political information.” The party stressed that it did not want Wahl-O-Mat to be scrapped, but merely improved upon.

Read more: German election: Wahl-O-Mat App pairs voters with political parties

A bpb spokesman confirmed that the popular app had been switched off, but said he regretted the court’s decision.

“The Wahl-O-Mat has been very successful in increasing political participation. It is even used by millions of people in the European elections. We will examine the verdict and in the next days decide whether to appeal [against the verdict] or revise the software to include smaller parties in the app,” the spokesman said.

Read more: Undecided French voter? There’s an app for that!

The Federal Agency for Civic Education, which is responsible for the app’s content, has so far maintained that the software could not be technically modified to include significantly more parties. But the court ruled that the agency’s claim was “not sufficiently credible.”

Read more: EU election voter apps: Swipe right to vote?

Hugely popular in Germany

Since first launching in 2002, Wahl-O-Mat has become an ingrained part of the German election process. In 2017, Thomas Krüger, the president of the bpb, described the voter tool as Germany’s “democratic national sport.”

While VVAs exist in many countries, few boast the kind of fanfare enjoyed by Germany’s Wahl-O-Mat. According to Krüger, some 13.3 million users used the tool ahead of the federal election in 2013 and, according to market research firm YouGov, one in three voters consulted the app in the weeks leading up to the 2017 election.

Since its inception 15 years ago, the Wahl-O-Mat’s main focus has been to mobilize younger voters, which has contributed to higher voter turnout.

shs/ng (dpa, AFP)

Germany’s major political parties — What you need to know

Christian Democratic Union (CDU)

The CDU has traditionally been the main center-right party across Germany, but it shifted toward the center under Chancellor Angela Merkel. The party remains more fiscally and socially conservative compared to parties on the left. It supports membership of the EU and NATO, budgetary discipline at home and abroad and generally likes the status quo. It is the largest party in the Bundestag.

Germany’s major political parties — What you need to know

Christian Social Union (CSU)

The CSU is the sister party of the CDU in Bavaria and the two act symbiotically at the national level (CDU/CSU). Despite their similarities, the CSU is generally more conservative than the CDU on social issues, with CSU leader Horst Seehofer among the critics of Merkel’s lax immigration policy. The CSU premier of Bavaria, Markus Söder, more recently ordered crosses in every state building.

Germany’s major political parties — What you need to know

Social Democrats (SPD)

The SPD is Germany’s oldest political party and the main center-left rival of the CDU/CSU. It shares the CDU/CSU support for the EU and NATO, but it takes a more progressive stance on social issues and welfare policies. The party is currently in a coalition government with the CDU/CSU and is trying to win back popular support under leader Andrea Nahles after losing votes in 2017.

Germany’s major political parties — What you need to know

Alternative for Germany (AfD)

The new kid on the block is the largest opposition party in the Bundestag. The far-right party was founded in 2013 and entered the Bundestag for the first time in 2017 under the stewardship of Alice Weidel and Alexander Gauland. It is largely united by opposition to Merkel’s immigration policy, euroscepticism, and belief in the alleged dangers posed by Germany’s Muslim population.

Germany’s major political parties — What you need to know

Free Democrats (FDP)

The FDP has traditionally been the kingmaker of German politics. Although it has never received more than 15 percent of the vote, it has formed multiple coalition governments with both the CDU/CSU and SPD. The FDP, today led by Christian Lindner, supports less government spending and lower taxes, but takes a progressive stance on social issues such as gay marriage or religion.

Germany’s major political parties — What you need to know

The Greens

The Greens, led today by Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck, emerged from the environmental movement in the 1980s. Unsuprisingly, it supports efforts to fight climate change and protect the environment. It is also progressive on social issues. But strong divisions have occasionally emerged on other topics. The party famously split in the late 1990s over whether to use military force in Kosovo.

Germany’s major political parties — What you need to know

The Left

The Left, led by Katja Kipping and Bernd Riexinger, is the most left-wing party in the Bundestag. It supports major redistribution of wealth at home and a pacifist stance abroad, including withdrawing Germany from NATO. It emerged from the successor party to the Socialist Unity Party (SED) that ruled communist East Germany until 1989. Today, it still enjoys most of its support in eastern Germany.

Author: Alexander Pearson