EU elections: German far-right candidates allowed to run despite false resume claims

Far-right AfD candidates in the upcoming European elections will not be facing recalls despite an internal investigation finding that at least one of them had made false claims about their resume, the party’s leadership announced on Tuesday.

Far-right candidates Arno Bausemer and Mary Khan-Holoch have been asked to provide evidence to back claims they made about their background after doubts about their authenticity were raised. They are two candidates tipped to be among the party’s top 15 in the upcoming EU election, t-online reported first.

“No professional or academic qualifications had been completed at the time of their application,” Tino Chrupalla and Alice Weidel, co-leaders of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), said about Bausemer and Khan-Hohloch on Tuesday, noting, however, that Khan-Hohloch had since acquired a degree.

Bausemer – the number 10 on the candidate list – claimed to have completed his training as a journalist, though this could not be corroborated by his superiors. His statements that he had been “managing director of an agricultural company” for several years could also not be verified by the media.

As for Khan-Hohloch, he was accused of making false statements about a university degree and extensive non-political work experience. Khan-Hohloch is number 14 on the party’s candidate list.

But party leaders decided not to hold a new nomination ballot following a meeting Monday evening.

“A repetition of the party convention is neither advisable, necessary, nor proportionate,” the party’s leaders said.

“A substitution of candidates as well as a change in the order is only permissible via a new nomination procedure. The same applies to the elimination of individual candidates”, an AfD spokesperson told MDR in the run-up to the leadership’s decision.

Removing the candidates from the race would have required a new vote and possibly an elaborate convention, as the original vote had taken several days.

The accusations – now partly confirmed – have caused a stir among the party’s leadership and rank and file, internal party documents seen by t-online reveal.

“For 10 years, we have claimed to be different from the old parties. If we now do the same as those parties, we violate our party rules, we lead our basic principles ad absurdum and will have forfeited the right to criticise those professional politicians,” an AfD MP claimed in a motion following t-online’s investigation as they called on the leadership to proactively screen all candidates rather than merely ask for evidence.

(Kjeld Neubert | Euractiv.de)