Several candidates for the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) have died in the lead-up to this month’s local elections in the country’s most populous state.
According to the German paper of record Die Welt, at least seven AfD candidates have died ahead of the September 14th elections in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Authorities have stressed that there is so far no evidence of foul play in any of the deaths.
Germany’s Deutsche Presse-Agentur wire service noted that a total of 16 candidates have died before the upcoming vote. Yet, no other party besides the Eurosceptic right-wing party has suffered more than one death.
However, police have already confirmed natural causes in four of the AfD candidate deaths and said there are so far no indications of foul play in the others.
The latest death was confirmed this week to be Hans-Joachim Kind, a candidate for the populist party in the Kremenholl district. It has been reported that the 80-year-old died of natural causes after a lengthy illness.
A North Rhine-Westphalia election commission spokesman told the DPA that the number of deaths was “not significantly higher” than in past elections, with tens of thousands of people running for seats in the state.
The death of a candidate can result in election officials printing new ballots with a replacement candidate or sometimes holding special elections.
Deputy chairman of the AfD in North Rhine-Westphalia, Kay Gottschalk, said on Tuesday that the party will “pursue the cases with due sensitivity and care”.
However, she added that there are “no indications” that any of the cases involve “murder or the like” with many of the deceased having “pre-existing conditions”.
According to the latest polling from the RTL/NTV tracker, the AfD remains the most popular party in Germany at 26 per cent, with the centrist CDU/CSU of Chancellor Friedrich Merz trailing at 25 per cent and the coalition partner Social Democrats languishing in third place at 13 per cent.
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