AfD in NRW before the electoral crisis: concerns about candidate approval grow!

AfD in NRW before the electoral crisis: concerns about candidate approval grow!

On January 24, 2025, the political future of the AfD is on the brink in North Rhine-Westphalia. The state election committee of the NRW state parliament will deal with the final approval of the parties and candidates for the upcoming federal election on February 23. Reports on possible formal errors in the AfD candidate list have already caused concern. The information comes from the online portal "The Pioneer", which is based on emails between the state election manager and the AfD state board. In particular in two district associations, including Kleve, irregularities were found in the choice of delegates, which further complicated.

The North Rhine-Westphalian Ministry of the Interior has now asked the AfD for comment. However, the AfD regional association is optimistic and is convinced that the alleged problems are unfounded. This assessment is supported by the fact that the party's member registration system is currently under strict observation, not least due to allegations of manipulation in the Düren district association.

membership and manipulation allegations

The AfD regional association is seriously afraid that due to these allegations it may not be approved for the Bundestag election 2025. In particular, it is criticized that members are said to have been included in the Düren district association under false addresses. A document that was written by the AfD state board on November 8 describes the situation as an "intangible damage", which means the "endangerment of the election to the federal election".

In order to do justice to this situation, the state board of the AfD has made an application for a party exclusion procedure against a official from Düren, which should be involved in the processes in question. Previously, the party leadership had dismissed the possibility of hazardous to the list position as unfounded. However, the AfD could not cost four to five percentage points in the Bundestag election and consequently also impair the AfD.

internal challenges and organizational problems

The Federal CEO of the AfD, Alice Weidel, was informed about the critical situation and takes the topic seriously. The state election management set a deadline until November 15 to comment on the allegations. The AfD state board states that the problems have been resolved and the members concerned have been removed in accordance with the statutes.

Alibi addresses were also used in the allegations of manipulation to provide membership cards, which stirs up additional distrust. Another problem is technical difficulties in the member administration program, which have to lead to a repetition of the delegate elections in six district associations. Unconscialities about the invitation to the delegate elections could endanger the validity of the choice of candidates.

In the party, it is discussed whether the candidates for the Bundestag election should be elected by a member party congress. However, this would bring logistical challenges; The state board considers the existing delegate system proven and sees the member party conference as inconvenient. In the federal leadership, however, there is optimism that the state list can be set up legally, despite the unsettling reports and internal difficulties.