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Nearly 10,000 Rally for Constitutional Review of the AfD

Protesters are urging state governments to use the Bundesrat to ask Germany’s constitutional court to examine whether the AfD violates core democratic norms.

Overview

  • Organizers from the citizen movement PRÜF said roughly 9,460–9,500 people took part in Saturday demonstrations in eleven cities, with about 800 in Berlin and 300 in Potsdam.
  • PRÜF demands that the Bundesverfassungsgericht review any party the domestic intelligence service has flagged as right-wing extremist and cites a late-June legal opinion that argues the AfD breaches human dignity and democratic principles.
  • Only the Bundestag, the Bundesrat or the Bundesregierung can file a party-ban case under Article 21 of the Basic Law, so PRÜF is specifically pressing state governments to table a motion in the Bundesrat.
  • The AfD’s May 2025 classification by the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz as a “gesichert rechtsextremistische Bestrebung” remains contested in court after the Kölner Verwaltungsgericht provisionally suspended that designation in February.
  • PRÜF plans recurring monthly rallies to sustain pressure on political institutions, a push that could force public debate in state capitals and influence whether legislatures take the formal step of asking the constitutional court to decide.