Forty Greek parties to participate in EU elections
A section of Greece’s Supreme Court ruled on Friday that 40 parties and coalitions will participate in the upcoming European elections on May 26.
A total of 49 parties had registered to run at the top court’s prosecutor’s office but nine failed to pay the required 3,000 euros fee or to present a full list of candidates.
The judges also excluded three candidates from the coalition Ecology Greens – Solidarity and one candidate from MeRa25 – which is part of the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 (DiEM25) – because they did not meet the legal criteria for participation in the elections.
In 2014, a total of 43 parties took part in the elections and 27 in the 2009 ballot.
Greece has 21 seats in the 705-seat assembly. The Greek threshold for entering EU Parliament is 3 percent. Greeks living abroad vote a day earlier, on May 25.
Voting in European Parliament elections is compulsory in the country.