Doris von Sayn-Wittgenstein has to accept another setback: her exclusion from the AfD faction in the Schleswig-Holstein Landtag is right, as the state constitutional court decided.
The 64-year-old is not violated by the exclusion in their constitutionally secured parliamentary rights, according to the unanimous verdict. The proceedings "withstand the constitutional review," said the judges.
It is the second defeat within two days: Sayn Wittgenstein had been excluded on Wednesday by the Federal Arbitration Court of the AfD last instance because of party damaging behavior from the party.
Sayn-Wittgenstein had advertised in 2014 for a club that has been on the so-called list of incompatibility of the AfD since 2015 and was classified by the constitutional protection Thuringia as a right-wing extremist. This became public in a press article on November 28, 2018. Sayn-Wittgenstein was then expelled from the faction in Kiel.
"I am elected by the people"
The court further stated that a constitutional review of whether and how far Sayn-Wittgenstein is really politically "right" by the AfD faction or the party, by law, does not take place. This question would have to clarify party jurisdictions. "In this respect, neither the fact that the applicant has been reelected to the chairperson of the AFD in Schleswig-Holstein after its exclusion, nor the decision of the Federal Supreme Court of the AfD of 28 August 2019 is of importance."
AfD parliamentary leader Jörg Nobis welcomed the decision of the court. It creates legal clarity and sets a final point at the same time: "Because there is no legal remedy against this decision." Nobis called on Sayn-Wittgenstein to return her parliamentary mandate.
Sayn-Wittgenstein rejected the demand. "I was elected by the people and not by the faction," she told the dpa news agency in Kiel. According to her, the AfD state executive board continues to stand by her. This would have shown first talks.
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