A 58-year-old mayoral candidate has been stabbed in what is believed to be an incident relating to Germany's current mass influx of asylum seekers.

While campaigning in Cologne, Henriette Reker - an independent candidate who is supported by Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU party - was stabbed in the neck.

The 44-year-old attacker "said he had a racist motivation for committing this act," a news conference was informed by Cologne police official Norbert Wagner.

"According to first findings, we have determined that he apparently acted alone, which means at this stage we do not have any findings that another person was involved, or took part in this act."

Chanellor Merkel's stance of Germany maintaining an open-door policy has been greeted by a backlash by her conservative allies and even sparked protests amongst some in the far-right. 

As Germany attempts to cope with the asylum seekers currently within it's borders, there are estimates that by the end of the year it will house as many as one million refugees.

Local police have stated that Henriette Reker was currently "stable, but not out of the woods".

The mayoral election is due to take place tomorrow.