Overview

• The Oberverwaltungsgericht Rheinland‑Pfalz dismissed Paul’s emergency application on 25 August, confirming his exclusion from the 21 September vote (Az. 10 B 11032/25.OVG).
• The judges held that decisions directly affecting a ballot are generally reviewed only after the election in a Wahlprüfungsverfahren and found no irreparable harm in waiting.
• The ruling cited indications Paul supported the AfD’s “remigration” concept, including a 2023 lecture and links to Identitarian ideas, which higher courts deem incompatible with human dignity and the democratic order.
• Ludwigshafen’s election committee had rejected the AfD nomination on 5 August by a 6:1 vote, relying on an 11‑page Verfassungsschutz dossier detailing contacts and publications.
• The city will print ballots without Paul and has ordered the removal of his campaign posters, while he says a constitutional complaint in Karlsruhe is under consideration.