Member of parliament: Enough votes for first step towards AfD ban

The CDU member of parliament Marco Wanderwitz wants to introduce a motion to ban the AfD in parliament and says he has found enough supporters to do so. In order to put such a motion on the agenda, five percent of MPs are needed, i.e. 37. "We have that together," the former Federal Government Commissioner for Eastern Germany told the newspaper "taz" (Monday). A simple majority would be required for a resolution. However, a party can only be banned by the Federal Constitutional Court. This can be applied for by the Bundestag, the federal government and/or the Bundesrat.

We are still waiting for the written reasons for the ruling by the Münster Higher Administrative Court, which confirmed the classification of the AfD as a suspected right-wing extremist party by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution in May, said Wanderwitz from Saxony. "When the reasons for the ruling are available, we will take a close look at it and then submit our updated and well-founded application for a ban." The democratic constitutional state must not simply allow a party "that spreads hatred and agitation around the clock and wants to abolish this constitutional state until it is too late".

Since the Federal Republic of Germany was founded, only two party ban applications have been successful in Karlsruhe: in 1952 against the neo-Nazi Socialist Reich Party (SRP) and in 1956 against the Communist Party of Germany (KPD).