Two AfD politicians in Lower Saxony have been barred from running in upcoming local elections after courts upheld decisions citing constitutional loyalty concerns.

Stephan Bothe, deputy leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in Lower Saxony, has been denied candidacy for the upcoming local elections in the Lüneburg district. The decision follows a ruling by the Lüneburg Administrative Court, which rejected Bothe’s emergency appeal to overturn his exclusion. The court stated that election-related decisions can only be challenged post-election through formal objection procedures.

The exclusion stems from a recent amendment to the local election law requiring candidates to undergo constitutional loyalty checks. Authorities are permitted to use intelligence from the domestic security agency, which earlier classified the AfD’s Lower Saxony branch as firmly extremist. Bothe’s case is one of several involving AfD candidates barred from running, including Martin Sichert, a Bundestag member who faced a similar rejection in Friesland. Both appeals were dismissed on identical grounds.

The court emphasized the need to balance individual rights with the smooth and timely conduct of elections. It clarified that candidates are not left without legal recourse, as election results can be contested and overturned if found invalid. Both rulings remain subject to appeal, with Bothe and Sichert having the option to escalate their cases to the Higher Administrative Court in Lüneburg.