Eusko Abertzale Ekintza - Rise To Prominence

Rise To Prominence

The banning of Batasuna drew attention to the virtually unknown and inactive EAE-ANV as it was informally designated by Batasuna's ranks as the political heir of the illegalized Batasuna.

Consequently, it was during the 2007 municipal and provincial Spanish elections when the new EAE-ANV received intensive media and political attention. Nearly half of its lists were declared illegal prior to the elections, because a significant portion of the candidates on them had previously run for either Batasuna, EH or HB (different reincarnations of the same base). This despite the fact those parties were legal when these candidates ran for them. The Supreme Court declared that those EAE-ANV lists were providing cover to an illegal party (Batasuna), and, therefore, those list including former Batasuna members were ineligible.

Arguably in order to tamper the court assessment of its candidates, EAE-ANV only disclosed its intentions to run for those elections with the shortest possible legal notice. Thus, the legal assessment declaring some of the lists ineligible was made in a hurry, which also left little time (24 hours) for appeal on the part of the party. Some EAE-ANV members then claimed that a "presumption of guilt" was applied that remained to be properly proven in due time. However, EAE-ANV could take part in the elections with its legal lists, and received a grand total of some 187,000 votes (those votes for lists declared ineligible prior to the elections were declared null). Among the illegal lists were those of Bilbao, San Sebastian and Vitoria; but not those of Pamplona city council, where EAE-ANV has two representatives.