BERLIN — Germany’s nationalist party Alternative for Germany on Sunday elected two new top candidates for the fall general election after the party’s best-known politician, Frauke Petry, said last week she would no longer be available.

Members of the far-right party, known as AfD, elected Alexander Gauland and Alice Weidel at their weekend convention in Cologne.

Divisions erupted among the different factions of the German nationalists as delegates from the AfD rejected an appeal Saturday by Petry to seek a more pragmatic political path instead of turning into a ‘‘fundamental opposition’’ party. The defeat was a significant blow for AfD co-leader Petry, whose position in the party is now weakened.

Gauland, 76, is one of the party’s most prominent members and one of Petry’s main rivals. ‘‘We want to keep our home country, keep our identity,’’ he said in his speech.

Weidel, 38, has not stood in the party’s spotlight so far.

The party members also voted for an election manifesto that is harsh on immigration and Muslims and reiterates calls for leaving the European Union’s euro currency.

Associated Press