AfD draws up state list for Bundestag elections

At a party conference this weekend, the Saxon AfD is drawing up its state list for the federal elections. In addition to federal party chairman Tino Chrupalla, the party's co-founder and honorary chairman Alexander Gauland is also among the candidates - contrary to earlier plans to end his parliamentary career, as confirmed by the AfD Saxony spokesperson on request.

Gauland had stood as the AfD's lead candidate in Brandenburg in the last two federal elections, where he was replaced by state party leader René Springer. The candidacy in Saxony was an offer from his hometown of Chemnitz, Gauland said last weekend.

Chrupalla wants first place on the list

Federal Chairman Chrupalla will run for the first place on the list. He announced this after his election as direct candidate for the constituency of Görlitz. As the top candidate, he wants to make the state association of Saxony the front-runner.

The MEP Maximilian Krah, who recently appeared at several events in the Chemnitzer Umland - Erzgebirgskreis II constituency according to media reports, could also run. He himself recently told "Welt am Sonntag" and "taz" that his candidacy had not yet been decided.

Krah had been in the headlines for weeks before the European elections in June due to some shrill public appearances and reports of suspected links to Russia and China as well as investigations into an ex-employee for alleged espionage for China.

Currently 10 AfD direct mandates from Saxony in the Bundestag

It is uncertain whether candidates from the Saxon state list will enter the Bundestag for the AfD. Currently, all ten Saxon AfD seats are occupied by direct candidates. Candidates from the list move up if a party is entitled to more seats based on its share of the second votes than it has won through direct candidates.

The next Bundestag election is expected to take place on February 23 following the end of the traffic light system. In the previous election, the AfD won 24.6 percent of the two votes in Saxony, leaving the CDU far behind with 17.2 percent.