RIESA, Germany >> Thousands of people demonstrated against a convention of the far-right Alternative for Germany on Saturday, blocking some roads and delaying the meeting’s start as parties launched their campaigns for the country’s election next month.

A heavy police presence was in place in Riesa — in the eastern state of Saxony, a stronghold of Alternative for Germany, or AfD — and officers cleared some protesters from the streets. However, the two-day convention started a little over two hours late as many delegates’ trips to the venue were slowed by blockades.

AfD formally nominated co-leader Alice Weidel as its candidate for chancellor by acclamation. Weidel, who was among those held up, thanked delegates for “defying the left-wing mob and getting here.”

Polls show AfD in second place ahead of the Feb. 23 election, with about 20% support. However, Weidel — who this week held a live chat with tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has endorsed the party, on his X platform — has no realistic chance of becoming Germany’s leader as other parties refuse to work with AfD.

It is the mainstream conservative opposition Union bloc that leads polls with around 30% and its candidate, Friedrich Merz, is the favorite to become the next chancellor.

The Union is focusing on boosting Germany’s stagnant economy in particular and on reducing irregular migration. Weidel assailed it as a “party of fraudsters” Saturday, urging people to “vote for the original” and strengthen her party.

She called for closing Germany’s borders to undocumented migration and large-scale deportations of asylum-seekers, making clear that she has no problem with the politically charged term “remigration.”