Berlin, Mar. 13, (dpa/GNA) – The German climate activist group Last Generation announced it has collected enough signatures to put candidates on the ballot for European Parliament elections in June.
Over the past four weeks, activists with Last Generation have collected and certified 8,800 signatures, about twice as many as needed, the group said on Wednesday.
Last Generation rose to national prominence, and widespread controversy, with a campaign of aggressive street blockades in which activists sometimes glued their hands or feet to roadways.
Last Generation activists also sprayed paint on political offices and major landmarks, threw substances on famous paintings in art galleries and staged other headline-grabbing actions.
Leaders of the activist group announced earlier this year that they would halt its street blocks and change tactics. They announced plans to run for European Parliament in February.
The ballot petitions will be submitted to Germany’s Federal Election Commissioner on Friday, which will then review the signatures and decide whether the group will be allowed to run in the EU election.
The electoral hurdles to win a seat in the European Parliament are lower compared to domestic German parliamentary elections, where parties are generally required to win at least 5% of the vote to take seats. There is no such threshold for the European Parliament.
Last Generation leaders said they believe they can win a seat in European Parliament with around 250,000 votes. The group said it raised more than €50,000 ($55,000) and attracted 150 volunteers for the campaign.
GNA