ATHENS – Ilias Kasidiaris, the former spokesman of the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party, is determined to participate as an independent candidate in the upcoming June 25 elections. Despite his extremist National Party-Greeks being disqualified from the initial May 21 elections, Kasidiaris seeks to run in an Athens district. His aim is to circumvent the ban through a coalition of Independent Candidates under the name “Ellines” (Greeks).

The Parliament and Supreme Court prohibited Kasidiaris’ party following an amendment that disqualifies parties led by politicians convicted of serious offenses, as the Golden Dawn leaders were convicted of running a criminal gang.

Kasidiaris, who remains politically active while in jail, expressed his intentions on his Twitter account, stating, “A coalition of independent candidates is not a party as it does not have a country-wide ticket and is not entitled to state funding, therefore not limited by the unconstitutional amendments passed by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.”

At 42 years of age, Kasidiaris founded the National Party-Greeks after receiving a 13-year prison sentence in 2020. He maintains an unrepentant and defiant stance, having launched verbal attacks against the ban.