In this report, it's revealed that the mayor of Ludwigshafen has disqualified the candidate from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Ludwigshafen's mayor applied pressure on the Rhineland-Palatinate's interior minister to acquire damaging evidence against the AfD candidate, Paul. The aim was to invalidate his eligibility for the election, a move that the mayor ultimately executed, as revealed in a recently discovered letter.

, and ASMedia

2025 September 2 . 4:56 AM

1 min read

Removed the AfD contender as the mayor of Ludwigshafen decided

In this report, it's revealed that the mayor of Ludwigshafen has disqualified the candidate from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

In a surprising turn of events, Joachim Paul, the AfD candidate for Mayor of Ludwigshafen, has been barred from running in the upcoming mayoral election scheduled for September 21, 2025[1][2][4]. This decision was made by the local election committee, chaired by the incumbent Mayor Jutta Steinruck, following an extensive review by the state domestic intelligence agency.

Mayor Steinruck had requested the state Interior Ministry and the domestic intelligence service to provide incriminating material on Paul, which they did in an 11-page letter detailing evidence that led to his exclusion from the race[4][5]. This letter cited various reasons, including connections with right-wing activists and controversial statements that raised concerns about constitutional loyalty[2][4].

Joachim Paul challenged this decision in court, filing an urgent application to be admitted as a candidate. However, the administrative court dismissed his complaint on August 18, ruling that a provisional admission was not possible before the election and effectively allowing the ban to stand[3][5]. Paul has indicated he may appeal but so far remains excluded.

It was previously stated, incorrectly, that Joachim Paul was the most promising competitor of Mayor Jutta Steinruck. The current status of Joachim Paul’s candidacy is that he is officially barred from running in the Ludwigshafen mayoral election, following an unprecedented move led by Mayor Jutta Steinruck who requested and utilized incriminating material against him from the state security services[1][3][4][5].

[1] [Source 1] [2] [Source 2] [3] [Source 3] [4] [Source 4] [5] [Source 5]