Berlin law professor and political party expert Sophie Schönberger has criticized the AfD party for practicing improper campaign financing in Saxony-Anhalt, stating in an interview with “Spiegel” that this misuse could lead to the election having to be repeated.
The issue centers on the AfD’s visibly sloppy use of parliamentary group funds during the campaign. Schönberger noted that the party largely financed its efforts in Saxony-Anhalt using these official group resources, specifically referencing the “citizen dialogues” organized by the state parliament faction across the region. She described this practice as “obviously illegal” and warned that as a consequence, the local election could be successfully challenged.
Under German party law, political parties are forbidden from accepting donations from their parliamentary groups, and promotional campaigns on behalf of a party are regarded as such donations. According to Schönberger, concealed party funding can render an election invalid. While courts have previously dismissed similar complaints by arguing that the illegal campaigning had no practical impact on the results, she believes the sheer number and duration of the citizen dialogues in Saxony-Anhalt might change that assessment.
Other constitutional law experts support this view. Fabian Michl from Freiburg argued that improper financing by factions violates the principle of equal opportunity among parties, constituting an “electoral error” that can be the subject of an election review.
However, Christoph Möllers, a constitutional law expert based in Berlin, expressed greater skepticism. While he conceded that hidden campaigning funded by diverting group funds could interfere with democratic competition, he questioned the practicality of overturning the vote, stating that there is no actionable criterion for determining mandatory mandate relevance, and that revoting is such a massive intervention that it would rarely be applied.
Any eligible voter in Saxony-Anhalt can file an objection against the election, provided the complaint is submitted within one month of the election results being officially announced, which the state election board expects to happen soon.
