The North Rhine-Westphalian AfD Bundestag candidate Matthias Helferich, who is controversial because of statements in a chat, should no longer be allowed to hold office for two years, according to the will of the party executive.
The AfD federal board made a corresponding decision on Monday in a conference call, as a party spokesman reported on request.
On the other hand, there was no majority to expel Helferich from the party.
The suspension of office is applied for "because of a significant violation of the order and principles as well as the statutes of the party" at the regional arbitration court of North Rhine-Westphalia, which then has to decide on it.
In May, Helferich was elected to seventh place on the state list for the federal election on September 26th in North Rhine-Westphalia.
The lawyer from Dortmund is also one of two deputy chairmen of the North Rhine-Westphalian state association.
The place on the candidate list would not be affected by an office ban.
In a video that he published on his Facebook page shortly before the meeting of the federal executive committee, Helferich addresses the allegations.
For example, he does not deny that he described himself as the "friendly face of NS" in a chat. However, this term was merely a third-party attribution by left-wing bloggers whom he "satirized", he explains in his video. According to information from party circles, six participants in the conference call voted for exclusion from the party, six participants abstained. "I have no grudge against the federal executive board and do not judge anyone for their voting behavior," wrote Helferich afterwards on Facebook.