Greece - May 2023

Greek Parliament approved an extension to the February legislation to ban the extreme-right National Party - Greeks from running in the May elections. The ban was voted in by nine out of ten Supreme Court judges. The court said that the law’s provisions are in line with the constitution. The ruling implies that no extreme right parties will be in the parliament, excluding 13 other parties as well. The National Party - Greeks is a successor party to the Golden Dawn, a far-right neo-Nazi political party and ultranationalist criminal organization, which was declared a criminal organization in 2020 for charges including murder, racist violence, and money laundering. The National Party-Greeks was founded by former lawmaker Ilias Kasidiaris, who is currently serving a prison sentence over his leading role in Golden Dawn. It is the first time that MPs in Greece asked the Supreme Court to weigh the credentials of a party to compete in elections.

Sources: Ekathimerini, Voice of America, Politico, Balkan Insight, Deutsche Welle, Greek Reporter, ERT News