By Ioanna Mandrou

Appeals filed for the legality of the Spartan party’s participation in parliament were heard at the Supreme Special Court, known as the Electoral Court.

The head of the party, Vasilios Stigas, was present, who also took the floor trying to refute the appeals that say that behind the Spartans is Ilias Kasidiaris and with his own assistance this particular party entered the Parliament, violating the electoral legislation and undermining the legitimacy of the elections.

The head of the Spartans claimed that they are not Kasidiaris’ straw men, as did the other two deputies of the party in question who were present.

However, the lawyers who supported the appeals made extensive reference to the violations of the electoral legislation, argued that the validity of the elections has been damaged by the participation of the Spartans and their subsequent election, and to this end they invoked the criminal investigation of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Ario Ice which is in full swing with calls from all the MPs of the party in explanations for cheating the electorate.

In particular, the constitutionalist Costas Botopoulos argued, among other things, that with the way the “Spartans” entered the Parliament – with the indirect participation of the convicted H. Kasidiaris, who was twice banned from participating in the elections and with his decisive effect both on the electoral struggle of the “Spartans” as well as in their electoral appeal – there was a falsification of the popular will, which must lead to the disqualification of the deputies who were elected on the basis of it. It was also emphasized that there are not just indications of this unfair and illegal behavior, but catalytic evidence, as derived from the relevant request of the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court to lift the immunity of the MPs of the “Spartians” on the charge of “deceiving the electorate” ” and then from the initiation of criminal proceedings against them. As the most suitable way to replace the deputies of the “Spartans”, if they fall, the occupation of the corresponding seats by the first candidate of the party that had the largest unallocated balance in the specific electoral district was suggested.

The trial for the party was conducted under the presidency of the president of the Council of State Evangelia Nika and the composition of the Court included the presidents or their deputies from the Supreme Court and the Court of Auditors, i.e. from all three supreme courts.

In total, the objections were judged by 11 senior judicial officials.

The objections concern a direct questioning of the legitimacy of participation in the Parliament of the Spartans with the argument that they did not participate in the elections as their real leader was not Vasilios Stigas but the incarcerated member of the Golden Dawn Ilias Kasidiaris.

The decision will be issued shortly and may lead to the removal from parliamentary office of the MPs of the party in question. The scenarios that can exist based on the constitution and the current legislation are from a repeat of the elections in the specific constituencies, a scenario with zero chances to the replacement by MPs of the other parties of the MPs of the Spartans party who will fall. In this case the ruling party can reach 160 MPs.

In parallel with the Electoral Court, however, the criminal investigation carried out by the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court Georgia Adelini continues for illegal actions in the Spartan party after the public complaints of the head of the party, Mr. Stiga, who had spoken about the Greek Mafia and so on and had leave clear indications of Ilias Kasidiaris’ involvement in the party’s affairs.

For the criminal part of the case, the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court has already called for explanations from its deputies, except for Stiga, a process that is ongoing.