Three AfD members of the state parliament traveled to Russia as election observers. The presidential election will take place there from March 15th to 17th, in which Vladimir Putin, 71, wants to be confirmed in office for another six years. Andreas Jurca, Elena Roon and Ulrich Singer said they were invited by the Citizens’ Assembly as “democracy experts”. However, election observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) are not permitted.
The MPs’ trip met with criticism from the AfD parliamentary group in the Bavarian state parliament: “The parliamentary group expressly rejects this trip,” said chairwoman Katrin Ebner-Steiner.
Jurca explained to the German Press Agency that they were invited as “specialists on electoral procedures”. Their task is to evaluate the organization and process of elections in the Russian Federation, including issues such as: Are the polling stations barrier-free accessible, are reading templates available for blind people in the polling stations, and do citizens or local election observers file complaints them? The primary purpose of the trip was to “implement the demands for diplomatic dialogue supported by the party line,” said Jurca. The Citizens’ Council program runs from March 13th to 19th. The trip was organized by the welcoming side. “We have decided to bear the costs ourselves, precisely in order to avoid allegations of bias.”
According to Ebner-Steiner, the parliamentary group and the federal executive board have been informed about the trip. “The reason for the trip is election observation during the Russian presidential election. These are invitations that were personally addressed to three individual MPs.” They did not travel “as representatives of the faction”.
The AfD federal office in Berlin said that the federal executive board had recommended the three MPs not to make the trip. He initially did not know whether other AfD politicians had been invited.
MPs and parliamentary group leadership contradict each other
Jurca writes that even if the presidential elections and the war in Ukraine have “technically nothing to do with each other,” the war is still an omnipresent topic. “And we, as Bavarian representatives, have a moral duty towards our citizens to work for peace at all levels.” Their participation sends “a signal of willingness to engage in political dialogue, although the foreign diplomatic significance of the trip should not be overestimated.”
Ebner-Steiner said that the federal executive board had priority representation in all foreign policy issues. “In this respect, it is the only body authorized to represent these issues.” The presidential election is a domestic political matter for Russia and has “nothing to do with diplomatic relations to end the war.” The AfD’s political line is “that Germany does not interfere in the domestic political issues of other states.” Bavarian MPs should take care of the problems and concerns of Bavarian citizens. “They are mandated by the Bavarian people to do this.”
Gerhard Mangott, professor of international relations at the University of Innsbruck, told Bayerischer Rundfunk that the Citizens’ Chamber’s invitation was about state interest. “This is intended to send a signal internally and externally: Western politicians also certify to us that everything went smoothly,” said Mangott in the BR. In his own words, Jurca doesn’t believe that. “It is a standard task of the citizens’ assembly to invite foreign “democracy experts” to the elections.”
CSU parliamentary group leader Klaus Holetschek said: “The Bavarian AfD MPs are and remain Moscow’s fifth column. They are trying to cover up Putin’s anti-democratic election and support the violator of international law. They are a disgrace for the Free State.”