4,200 election-related crimes reported in Germany

German authorities have recorded some 4,200 crimes related to the country's September 26 election, reported dpa, quoting the Welt am Sonntag newspaper ahead of the poll.

The majority of the crimes involved damage to property, including election posters, the report - seen by dpa ahead of publication - said, citing data from Germany's 16 states. The state of Hesse did not give a precise number, however.

The crimes also included violence, illegal acts of propaganda and insulting people, the report said.

The figure corresponds to data collected by the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) in an internal report. Accordingly, the BKA had registered 4,035 crimes two weeks before the election, including 42 violent crimes.

A third of the criminal acts could be attributed to either left-wing or right-wing extremist political circles, the BKA said.

"It is the first election campaign in which I experience large groups of aggressive disruptors appearing at almost every public event," Health Minister Jens Spahn told Welt am Sonntag, adding that a form of "pandemic extremism" had formed in Germany.

On Sunday, the German electorate is set to choose one of three candidates to replace Chancellor Angela Merkel after 16 years in power. This person will be tasked with forming a government that will likely include three parties.