A series of dead political candidates in the Germany, just ahead of local elections, has caused a stir and is fueling concern to citizens.

According to the electoral director of the state of Northern Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous in the country, a total of 16 candidates for local elections have lost their lives. Of those, seven were affiliated with the AfD party, while the rest came from various political formations, including the SPD, the Greens, the FDP, as well as smaller parties and independents.

As Daily Mail reports, the frequency of deaths, especially those involving AfD candidates, has caused an “explosion” of theories on social media. The party’s co-chair, Alis Weidel, amplified the debate by reproducing a post by economist Stefan Homburg, who claimed that such a number of deaths is “statistically almost impossible.”

Police said that in the first four cases, foul play or other abnormal causes have been ruled out without commenting on the remaining 12 cases. However, the developments have already affected the electoral landscape, as the current legal framework provides for by-elections in the event of the death of candidates – even if they have to be held on the same day as the contest.

In Northern Rhine-Westphalia, home to about 18 million people, more than 20,000 candidates are contesting seats. In previous regional elections, the AfD was limited to 5.4%, but in last year’s federal election it registered 16.8%, a figure many analysts expect it to repeat this year. The party has even received public support from international figures such as Elon Musk, who recently said: “Either Germany votes AfD or it’s the end of Germany.”

At the same time, the AfD has come under tighter scrutiny from German security authorities. Earlier this year, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) with a very controversial decision classified the party – which came second in February’s federal elections – as a “proven far-right extremist organisation”. This is the first time the party, which has parliamentary representation at the national level, has officially received this designation.

The decision does not lead to a ban on the party, but allows the agency to intensify surveillance, even utilizing undercover informants or communications intercepts.

Interior Minister Nancy Faezer stressed: “The AfD promotes an ethnic ideology that stigmatises entire social groups and treats citizens with an immigrant background as second-class Germans.” At the same time, however, he categorically rejected claims that there had been “political interference” in the BfV’s findings, although the timing of the report is seeing by many as at least suspicious.