Greece’s government has introduced urgent legislation to ban a far-right political party from participating in next month’s general election, Ekathimerini has reported.
The Greeks-National Party was founded two years ago by a jailed former lawmaker of the extreme right Golden Dawn party, Ilias Kasidiaris.
Greece’s Parliament in February approved a legislative amendment to ban it from fielding candidates in elections.
Kasidiaris found a way to bypass the ban, stepping down from leading the party and allowing a new leader to take his place.
The Greek government has since submitted a new amendment to broaden the scope of the ban, and is calling for a plenary session of the Supreme Court to consider it.
Earlier, a vice president at the Supreme Court resigned in a legal dispute over the attempt by the government to ban the party.
Judge Christos Tzanerikos, one of 10 serving vice presidents at the court, expressed publicly that he is against the new amendment, describing it as government interference in the judiciary.
It is believed that the participation of Kasidiaris’ party in the elections will play a crucial role, with polls showing a voter support of about 3 percent, which would be enough for it to win entry to the Greek parliament.
Source: ekathimerini.com, voanews.com
