Seven politicians from Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) party are dead—just weeks before voters head to the polls.
The deaths, all reported between August 19 and September 3, have shaken North Rhine-Westphalia, where local elections are set for September 14. What’s causing the unease isn’t just the tragedy itself—it’s the numbers. Out of 16 total candidate deaths across all parties, nearly half (43%) were AfD members. That ratio has many whispering the one word no official wants to hear right now: sabotage.
Kay Gottschalk, AfD’s deputy regional chairman, admitted the deaths were “statistically conspicuous” and “hard to explain.” While police insist there’s “no indication of murder,” and the election committee downplays the figures as “not out of the ordinary,” AfD supporters see a pattern. Online forums are flooded with speculation, connecting the dots in ways the authorities refuse to.
Adding to the intrigue, the AfD is riding higher in the polls than ever before. A mid-August survey even placed them ahead of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservatives, making AfD the most popular party in the country. Their rapid rise, however, comes at a time when Germany’s domestic security service has branded them a “confirmed far-right extremist” organization. In May, the justice minister openly floated the idea of banning the party altogether.
Now, with seven of its candidates suddenly gone, the timing feels chillingly convenient to critics. Is it really just a tragic statistical fluke, or are we watching the silencing of a rising political force under the guise of natural deaths?
The official line is calm, clinical, and dismissive. But the public mood? Suspicious, angry, and unsettled. In a democracy already strained by censorship debates, immigration crises, and collapsing trust in institutions, these “statistically conspicuous” deaths are gasoline on a roaring fire.
For now, the question lingers in the air: coincidence, or conspiracy?
News Sources
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Anadolu Agency reports that German election authorities have dismissed speculation about the deaths of seven AfD candidates, noting that among 16 total candidate deaths across parties, AfD’s accounted for seven—and there’s no evidence of criminal wrongdoing.Anadolu Ajansı
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Newsweek details that six AfD candidates (four primary and two reserve) died within 13 days ahead of the September 14 NRW local elections; authorities found no signs of foul play, while some AfD figures—including Stefan Homburg—have called the cluster “statistically almost impossible.”News.com.auNewsweek
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Euronews highlights that police ruled out foul play in the deaths of seven AfD candidates, while noting the deaths have sparked widespread conspiracy theories across social media.euronews+1
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Tablet Magazine (subscriber-based) reports that seven AfD candidates died between August 18 and September 1 ahead of the September 14 election—sparking suspicious chatter—even though authorities found no foul play and noted 16 total candidate deaths across parties.Tablet Magazine
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Snopes fact–checked and confirmed the truth of the claim: seven AfD candidates died in the weeks prior to the local elections, and multiple German sources asserted there was no foul play involved.Snopes
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The Independent likewise reported six AfD candidate deaths leading up to the NRW election, quoted officials who ruled out foul play, and documented the social media response, including remarks by Alice Weidel and Elon Musk.The Independent
