The Party of Greeks (Hellenes) is the first party to be disqualified since democracy was restored in 1974.
Greece’s Supreme Court has agreed to ban the far-right Party of Greece (Hellenes) from taking part in the country’s forthcoming general elections, which are scheduled for May 21.
The court’s assembly decided on Tuesday by a nine-to-one majority to endorse amendments adopted by Parliament in February that disqualify parties led by politicians convicted of serious crimes and those “restricted to free functioning.” would not serve the party [Greece’s] democratic constitution”.
Under these conditions, jailed former lawmaker Ilias Kasidiaris and his Greek party are barred from taking part in the vote, even though the poll surpassed the 3 percent threshold required for representation in parliament.
Widely supported by mainstream Greek parties, the ban was maintained despite a last-minute change in the Greek party leadership.
Former Supreme Court deputy prosecutor Anastasios Kanellopoulos, 75, replaced Kasidiaris as leader of the Greek party last month and announced plans to revise the party’s charter.
The decision could affect the outcome of the election, as the winning party is likely to have an easier time forming a new government if fewer parties are represented in the national legislature.
The conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is aiming for a second term in the election. His centre-right New Democracy (Néa Dimokratía) party leads in opinion polls but is unlikely to achieve a clear victory.
Nationalist leader Kasidiaris founded the Greek Party after being sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2020. As a leading member of the far-right Golden Dawn (Chrysí Avgí) party, he was convicted of the murder of anti-fascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas and other crimes including murder, assault and running a criminal organization.
He was sentenced to 13.5 years in prison but has reached out to his followers via voice messages from prison and a YouTube channel with more than 120,000 followers.
“Coup Against Democracy”
In an online post following the change in leadership, Kasidiaris welcomed Kanellopoulos’ nomination and added that he plans to seek a seat in parliament in next month’s elections. Under Greek law, most prison inmates retain their political rights.
Before the verdict, he had denounced “an unimaginable coup against democracy” by those trying to deny a vote to “hundreds of thousands of voters” who support his party.
Government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou told Skai TV last month that “there must be no place for knife-wielding neo-Nazi criminal organizations to deceive the Greek judicial system.”
“There is a sufficient framework to deny any criminal organization, regardless of the guise it wears [opportunity] to seek the voice of the citizens… but we remain vigilant to make one [legal] Changes needed,” said Oikonomou.
The exclusion of a party from a Greek election is believed to be a first since democracy was restored in 1974 after a military dictatorship.