Overview

• North Rhine-Westphalia’s election director reports 16 candidate deaths across parties before the Sept. 14 local vote, including seven from the AfD.
• Police say there is no evidence of foul play, with causes cited in reporting that include illness, a heart attack and one suicide, and investigations remain open.
• The latest case identified is Hans-Joachim Kind, 80, reported as a natural death after a long illness; earlier cases include Ralph Lange, Wolfgang Klinger, Stefan Berendes and Wolfgang Seitz, plus reserve candidates René Herford and Patrick Tietze.
• Election offices in cities such as Schwerte and Rheinberg are reprinting ballots and sending new postal voting packets, invalidating some early votes while keeping the Sept. 14 timeline for a statewide contest featuring nearly 20,000 candidates.
• Speculation on social media grew after posts by Stefan Homburg that were amplified by AfD co-leader Alice Weidel and Elon Musk, even as AfD state deputy Kay Gottschalk urged caution against conspiracy claims.