Greece is moving to ban neo-Nazi parties from running in its national elections in May.
Lawmakers will soon vote on the legislation introduced by the government in Athens preventing far-right parties from competing in the elections. The proposed law comes in response to a jailed neo-Nazi who is leading a political party from prison that is gaining in the polls, VOA News reported.
Greek Justice Minister Makis Voridis, who brought the bill to parliament, described it as needed to protect democracy. He added that it will be the first time that Greek parliamentarians are asking the Supreme Court to decided whether a party will be able to run in elections.
Greek lawmakers recently voted to ban Ilias Kasidiaris from running the May 21 elections. An imprisoned previous senior member of the far-right Golden Dawn party, he now runs a political party, The Greeks, from prison. His YouTube channel currently has over 120,000 followers.
When Greek politicians, led by the ruling conservative party, attempted to prevent him from running the elections, Kasidiaris resigned from his leadership of the party and appointed a former Supreme Court prosecutor in his place.
His party is currently polling at around 3 percent, which is enough to give them representation in the Greek parliament, according to the report. With the ruling party tumbling in the polls, Kasidiari’s party is eating into their support.
The legislation introduced on Monday will not be supported by the main leftist party, Syriza. Experts have also questioned the legality of the proposed rule, noting that the country’s constitution does not prevent parties from competing in elections based on ideology but instead on whether their candidates have criminal records.