Vorwahlen

Vorwahlen (plural) is a term used in German to denote preliminary selection processes in two distinct domains. In politics, Vorwahlen refer to primary elections or nominating contests by political parties or jurisdictions to determine their candidates for upcoming elections. The exact rules vary by country and party; some primaries are open to all voters, others are restricted to registered party members, and some use caucuses or other forms of preselection. The outcomes can shape campaign strategies, funding, and the field of candidates for the general election. In the United States, large-scale primaries and caucuses are a central feature of presidential election campaigns.

Vorwahlen also refers to dialing codes used in telephone networks. In German-speaking countries, an Ortsvorwahl or simply Vorwahl is the number that must be dialed before the local subscriber number to reach a specific region. When dialing domestically, a leading zero is typically used (for example, 030 for Berlin, 040 for Hamburg). When dialing from abroad, the international country code is substituted (for Germany, +49, followed by the area code without the leading zero, e.g., +49 30). The Vorwahl system thus serves to route calls to regional exchanges and can include multiple digits depending on the country and network.

Because the term depends on context, Vorwahlen is best understood as a polysemous word in German, referring either to political nominating processes or to telephone area codes.