The Federal Office for the Protection of the German Constitution (BfV) has recognized the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as an extremist organization that threatens democracy, according to Reuters.

The designation is certain to inflame debates over whether the party should be banned, though some polls show it to be the most popular in the country.

Germany's domestic intelligence service has designated the AfD as a right-wing extremist group, handing authorities greater powers to monitor the party and fuelling calls for it to be banned.