Tens of thousands of demonstrators flooded the eastern German city of Erfurt on Saturday in a bid to disrupt the national congress of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), but the party's conference went ahead as scheduled, with delegates overwhelmingly re-electing co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla for another two-year term.According to AFP, many AfD delegates arrived at the conference venue before protesters blocked key roads into the city. While police estimated the turnout at around 31,000, organisers claimed at least 50,000 people joined the largely peaceful demonstrations against the party, which currently tops national opinion polls.Protesters blocked major routes into Erfurt, with some abseiling from a motorway bridge while others staged sit-in demonstrations that disrupted public transport across the city."It's important to send a signal against the shift to the right," 19-year-old protester Lene Krug told AFP."The AfD is an anti-democratic party that spreads hate."Despite isolated clashes in which police used pepper spray, authorities said the demonstrations remained largely peaceful.Inside the congress, delegates backed the party's existing leadership. Weidel was re-elected with 81 per cent of the vote, while Chrupalla secured 70 per cent, extending their tenure after leading the party for four years.Rejecting accusations that AfD poses a threat to democracy, Weidel told party delegates, "We are the new people's party in Germany." She added, "The AfD is ready to take responsibility because we, because the Germans, because Germany deserves to be governed well."Chrupalla struck a similarly confident tone, telling delegates, "Perhaps we'll soon be able to govern on our own."Referring to the protests outside the venue, he added, "That would be the right signal to the democracy-despisers out there who wanted to stop our party conference."The congress took place in Erfurt, the capital of Thuringia, where the AfD enjoys strong electoral support ahead of key state elections in eastern Germany. AFP reported that the party is aiming to convert its growing popularity into its first experience of governing, with opinion polls indicating it could secure an outright majority in September elections in Saxony-Anhalt.The AfD finished second in Germany's national election last year with 20 per cent of the vote and has since remained at or near the top of nationwide opinion polls. However, Chancellor Friedrich Merz's centre-right CDU/CSU bloc and all other major parties continue to rule out cooperation with the AfD, leaving the far-right party politically isolated despite its rising electoral support.The weekend congress also saw internal debate over the party's rules governing membership of extremist organisations. A proposal by senior AfD figure Bjoern Hoecke to revise the party's "incompatibility list" was withdrawn, although Weidel said the list would be reviewed within the next year, signalling further internal discussions as the party prepares for crucial state elections.