September 1 () –
Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has announced it will not allow the press to attend a party after Sunday’s regional elections in the eastern German state of Thuringia, after a court ordered that all media be given equal access.
Torben Braga, a spokesman for the AfD in Thuringia, said there would be no press at the event and that the elected MPs would address the media at the regional parliament on Sunday afternoon.
The AfD is responding to a ruling by the Erfurt Regional Court, which obliged the AfD to give all the press equal access to the party following a joint complaint by Der Spiegel, Bild, Die Welt and Die Tageszeitung. Up to 50 journalists from other media outlets had received confirmation of their accreditation.
The party argues that there was not enough space for all the press, as they had already received requests from 150 journalists and already had 150 party guests. However, at the moment the location of the celebration has not been announced and therefore the capacity is unknown.
The German Journalists’ Association has criticised the exclusion of certain media outlets as “politically outrageous”, according to its spokesman Hendrik Zoerner.
Voting is still underway in Thuringia, with a turnout similar to that of 2019: 32 percent by 12:00 pm, slightly higher than the 31.5 percent five years ago. In the other state voting on Sunday, Saxony, turnout was 35.4 percent by 2:00 pm, compared with 35.1 percent at the same time in 2019. These figures do not include postal votes.
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