Far-right leader declares support for MPs as two more resign following fraud charges
The leader of the far-right Spartiates (Spartans) party has said that he “supports and embraces all the MPs of his party,” as two of his MPs declared themselves independent hours after a Supreme Court prosecutor brought charges of electoral fraud against eleven MPs elected with the party in the last election.
Vassilis Stigas alleged that the government decided to target his Spartiates party because of “its tragic handling of a range of important socio-political issues” and “to disorient public opinion.”
The government “does not shy from using the criminal justice system and systemic means to prejudge judicial decisions and to neutralize any opposition politicians it fears,” he said.
The 11 MPs are accused of illegally receiving the support and direct guidance from Ilias Kasidiaris, the former deputy leader of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn group, who is currently incarcerated.
Kasidiaris himself is accused of incitement to commit fraud, along with one of his lawyers, Sotirios Metaxas, who is accused of complicity in deceiving the electorate. Kasidiaris, through a statement by his lawyer Vaso Pantazi, has denied any wrongdoing, saying that the case was “a joke.”
The Spartiates barely registered in polls before the June 2023 election until Kasidiaris endorsed it from his prison cell.
Under the law, parties cannot run in elections if their “real leaders,” not only their official representatives, have been convicted for crimes that carry a sentence of up to life imprisonment, ranging from treason or spying to participating in a criminal organization.
Following the announcement that charges were being pressed against the MPs, two Spartiates MPs, Giorgos Manousos and Giannis Dimitrokallis, announced that they would henceforth sit as independents.
Manousos said in a statement to parliament: “Until now, I remained in the [Spartiates] parliamentary group, due to my belief that Greek justice would not find a single grain of credibility in these false statements.”
Dimitrokallis said that “the criminal charge brought against me has made me unrightfully accountable to judicial authorities over the crime of deceiving voters following the untrue, false and defamatory statements by [Vassilis] Stigas.”
Elected with 12 MPs in 2023, the Spartiates now hold 8 seats in parliament as two other MPs earlier declared themselves independent.
If the lawmakers’ election was annulled as a result of the case, following misdemeanour charges being officially brought and leading to a trial, their seats could be distributed to the rest of the parties in the 300-seat parliament.
An election court is expected to issue a ruling over the case by June, which could also have an impact on the party ahead of elections to the European Parliament in that month. [Kathimerini, AP]
