Election authority confirms disqualification of AfD candidate Paul - Court Upholds Removal of AfD's Paul from Election
Joachim Paul Excluded from Ludwigshafen Mayoral Election
Joachim Paul, the AfD candidate for mayor in Ludwigshafen, has been excluded from the September 2025 mayoral election due to doubts about his loyalty to the German Constitution.
The Ludwigshafen election committee made the decision on August 5, 2025, with a 6-1 vote. The decision was based largely on a report from the Rhineland-Palatinate Interior Ministry and the domestic intelligence service (Verfassungsschutz), which detailed his alleged connections to right-wing extremist figures and questioned his commitment to Germany’s constitutional order.
Specific reasons cited include a reported meeting with Martin Sellner, leader of the Identitarian movement, which promotes controversial far-right positions such as remigration of foreigners. Other reasons include statements and associations considered problematic or indicative of lacking constitutional loyalty, as well as a detailed 11-page dossier compiled by the Verfassungsschutz, based on publicly available information, which was used as the evidence base for exclusion.
Paul's urgent application against the decision was rejected by the Administrative Court in Neustadt an der Weinstraße on August 18, 2025. The court ruled the appeal inadmissible, emphasizing the importance of electoral stability. The court indicated that any challenge to the exclusion could only be reviewed after the election, effectively upholding the ban on his candidacy for the upcoming vote.
Paul has expressed intentions to consider further appeals, but as of the latest update, the court's decision stands, and he will not be on the ballot for the September 21 mayoral election in Ludwigshafen.
A new city head will be elected in Ludwigshafen on September 21. The exact process for a candidate who feels aggrieved to await the outcome of an election review procedure after the election has taken place is yet to be determined. An appeal against the decision can be lodged with the Higher Administrative Court of Rhineland-Palatinate within two weeks of service.
References:
- The Local
- Deutsche Welle
- Bild
- Tagesspiegel
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