Niedersachsen’s Interior Minister, Daniela Behrens (SPD), defended the decisions made by four local electoral committees that excluded AfD candidates from municipal elections scheduled for September 13th last week.
Speaking to the “Welt,” Behrens stated that these committees assess each individual and carefully review specific findings related to them. In this process, public statements, political activities, and other relevant information are taken into account. She expressed confidence in these bodies, commenting that “It is wise to trust these groups. They have managed their task well in the past.”
The Social Democratic politician pushed back against accusations that the red-green state government had intentionally tightened the electoral regulations in April to make the exclusion of AfD politicians easier. “No tightening occurred,” she refuted. Instead, the state government merely clarified existing rules. Behrens explained that applicants for the positions of county administrative head (Landrat) or mayor have always been required to be checked for their constitutional loyalty.
She noted that local electoral committees are currently dealing with applicants from a party that the Lower Saxony Constitutional Office classifies as securely right-wing extremist more frequently than before. “When members of such a party apply for offices subject to civil service law, the municipal electoral committees must be able to scrutinize them closely. That is why we enabled these bodies to incorporate the insights of the Constitutional Office into their review.”
Behrens also referred to a recent interim ruling by the Hannover Administrative Court, where the assessment of the AfD as “securely right-wing extremist” was deemed “very clearly justifiable.” She added, “The AfD is appealing, so we must await further judicial developments. As long as the party is characterized and treated as securely right-wing extremist, that remains the legal situation.”
The exclusions took place in several towns and districts; in Wilhelmshaven and Herzberg, AfD mayoral nominees were not registered for the municipal elections this week. In the Friesland and Lüneburg districts, local electoral committees barred AfD candidates running for county administrative head.
