Adventist University Village Votes in National Elections in Germany
From APD, September 25, 2017: International news media are focused today on the results of the national election in German, where one village has the highest concentration of Adventists. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) appeared to be in a good position to hold onto its lead in the Bundestag or parliament and it had a clear lead in Friedensau, the Adventist dominated university town near Magdeburg.
Manfred Behrens of the CDU had 49 percent of the vote, followed by Dr. Franziska Kersten of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) with 29 percent. Ten percent for the Left alliance, six percent for the Green Party, two percent for the Free Democratic Party and only one percent for the populist Alternative for Germany party. Voter turnout in Friedensau was 67 percent of eligible voters, about seven percent less than four years ago and significantly less than the national average of 76 percent.
The town was founded by Adventists in 1899 and has about 420 residents with 265 voters. An independent municipality since 1920, it was incorporated into the neighboring town of Möckern in 2002. It is located about 30 kilometers east of the state capital Magdeburg, and is the site of Friedensau Adventist University with schools of theology and Christian social work.
APD is the Adventist news service in Europe.
