Overview
- State board members Irmgard Freihoffer, Ute May, and Stefan Scheingraber say a board decision unlawfully nullified the Oberpfalz district’s founding vote and ordered a repeat.
- The trio alleges Ernst uses access to member and supporter contact data as a disciplining tool, reports a climate of fear at board meetings, and claims he seeks to oust Oberpfalz chair Scheingraber.
- They have filed an appeal to the party’s arbitration court together with 24 additional Bavarian members, bringing the internal dispute into formal adjudication.
- Ernst rejects the accusations as baseless and says the repeat meeting is required because the original invitation contained a formal error that could jeopardize legal recognition by election authorities.
- He denies withholding or misusing membership data and argues that member records are administered at the federal level, while critics say restricted access is hindering party building and local election preparations.