Mystery as SIXTEEN German politicians die before they were due to stand in state elections sparking wild conspiracy theories

A series of German politicians have died ahead of state elections, sparking wild conspiracy theories online. 

A total of 16 candidates for local elections in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the biggest in the country, have died, according to its election director. 

Of the 16 people who have passed away, seven were involved with AfD, while one person each from the SPD, the Social and Democratic Alternative (SDA), the FDP, the Greens, the Animal Welfare Party, the Independent Voters’ Association (UWG), the Free Voters, the Referendum Party, and a voter group also died. 

Conspiracy theorists came out in their droves after the death of four, later seven, candidates standing for AfD, a right-wing upstart party that has surged in popularity since its inception in 2013. 

These conspiracies were amplified by the party’s co-leader Alice Weidel, who shared a claim by retired economist Stefan Homburg that the number of candidate deaths was ‘statistically almost impossible’.

Police said they had ruled out unnatural causes of death or foul play in the first four cases. 

The deaths have already affected the political process, as the length of time between nomination and election is relatively long. 

The Municipal Elections Act allows for by-elections to take place if candidates pass away. 

These can, if necessary, be held on election days themselves. 

More than 20,000 people are running for seats in North Rhine-Westphalia, which has a population of 18million people. 

During the last state election, AfD polled just 5.4% in the region, which has seen steep job losses. 

But in last year’s federal elections, the party took home 16.8% of the vote. Many are expecting a similar result this year. 

The party has serious international backers, including tech billionaire Elon Musk, who in recent days said: ‘Either Germany votes AfD, or it is the end of Germany’.

Earlier this year, AfD was classified as an extremist entity that threatens democracy by Berlin’s domestic intelligence agency.

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) said the entity, which came second in February’s federal election, was a ‘proven right-wing extremist organisation’.

While some parts of the AfD – such as its youth wing and some state-level branches – have already been classified as extremist, this is the first time that the party, which has national representation in parliament, has been formally designated. 

The new classification doesn’t ban the party, but it allows German authorities to intensify surveillance, including the use of undercover informants and monitoring communications.

A 1,000-page internal report from the BfV accuses the AfD of violating core constitutional principles such as human dignity and the rule of law.

‘The ethnicity- and ancestry-based conception of the people that predominates within the party is not compatible with the free democratic order,’ the agency said.

‘It aims to exclude certain population groups from equal participation in society, to subject them to treatment that violates the constitution, and thereby assign them a legally subordinate status.’

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said: ‘The AfD represents an ethnic concept that discriminates against entire population groups and treats citizens with a history of migration as second-class Germans.

‘Their ethnic attitude is reflected in racist statements, especially against immigrants and Muslims.’

She denied claims there was any ‘political influence whatsoever in the BfV’s findings’.