MeRA25 in national elections - July 7, 2019 - Votul membrilor DiEM25

MeRA25, our movement’s electoral wing in Greece, made history last Sunday! They managed to storm the Greek political scene and secure close to 170,000 votes (3%), narrowly missing the allocation of a seat in the European Parliament. This is a success that belongs to all of us who empowered MeRA25 through donations and by spreading the word that hope was returning in a country tortured by austerity for almost a decade. Our party’s rise was so rapid that it rattled the SYRIZA government, which called for a general election in order to salvage what is left of their seats and catch MeRA25 unprepared. But MeRA25 has gathered serious momentum and political capital, which could propel it into Greek Parliament.

The national elections pose a major organisational challenge for MeRA25, which needs to – among other things – secure over 400 candidates to represent our progressive programme for Greece and Europe in the national election, and they need to do so in a week! This is why they turn to us with a request:

Given the historic opportunity presented to our party to make a difference in the political arena in Greece, they wish to be given the permission of the DiEM25 membership to contest these elections and to do so with candidates who they will themselves filter and field. They wish they had the time to present the candidates to be scrutinised by the DiEM25 membership, but given the early elections called by the Prime Minister and the sheer number of candidates needed, this is not an option. The only way to be present in the elections is by us entrusting our members in MeRA25 to choose candidates who will be representative of our pan-European mission for democratising the EU. (Fill out this form if you have a Greek passport and want to be a candidate.)

The Coordinating Collective has examined this request and has decided to recommend this course to the membership.

Do you agree?