In Germany, six candidates for the country’s far-right AfD political party have died in recent weeks, the BBC reports, right before local elections in North Rhine-Westphalia. The police have investigated the deaths and found no evidence of foul play.
According to the BBC, 18 million people live in North Rhine-Westphalia and 20,000 candidates are running for office in the Sept. 14 election.
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Online, people were speculating about whether the deaths were connected in some way. The state’s Interior Ministry clarified that the deaths are not limited to one political party and that candidates from the Greens and Social Democrats have also died.
Party leadership fuels speculation
Alice Weidel, who is a co-leader of the AfD, did not try to deny the theories circulating about the candidate deaths. Instead, she reposted a comment made by Stefan Homburg, a retired economist, who claimed that the number of deaths among the candidates was “statistically almost impossible.”
The police have said the candidates’ deaths were due to natural causes. In some cases, the cause of death is not being made public out of respect for the families’ privacy.
AfD eyes electoral gains amid rising support
The AfD is aiming to boost support in North Rhine-Westphalia’s local elections, seen as a key test since the new federal government took office.
After a poor 5.4% showing in the 2022 state elections, the party has since risen to 16.8% in federal polls and may repeat that, the BBC reports.
‘Extremist’
Germany’s domestic intelligence agency classified the AfD as a “right-wing extremist organization,” but the label was withheld after a legal challenge, according to the BBC. Three German states still classify the political party as such.
