Gov’t to introduce legislative provision to block far-right party
The Greek government plans to introduce a legislative provision aimed at blocking the Greek National Party (Ellines), a far-right party founded by former MP Ilias Kasidiaris, from participating in the upcoming elections.
On Thursday, government spokesperson Ioannis Oikonomou announced that this provision would be added to the final bill to be voted on before Easter.
The need for this provision was prompted by concerns expressed by the country’s top court, particularly by the judges responsible for adjudicating on the legality of Kasidiaris’ party. These concerns were heightened by recent statements made by former prosecutor Anastasios (Tasos) Kanellopoulos, indicating his intention to assume leadership of the Ellines party. This confirmed fears that the former Golden Dawn MP and spokesman, sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2020, may seek to circumvent the recently-passed law prohibiting the party from entering Parliament.
The Supreme Court is set to rule on the legality of candidate parties on May 5. If the government’s legal provision is adopted, the decision on the participation of political parties in the upcoming elections will be made by the entire nine-member panel of judges serving in the relevant department of the Supreme Court, rather than just five of them, as has been done until now. It was not clear how this would affect the ruling.
The Ellines party is currently polling above the 3 percent threshold required to enter Parliament.
