This is about Eastern European country that is the member of EU. Political parties of this country are eligible to receive monetary support from the country budget (taxpayer money) based on the performance on the national elections and the party under consideration has received those funds for past several years.
Now this party performed very poorly at the latest general elections, there were reputation risks and badly prepared election platform etc. Many party members voted against their party, it was against their conscience to vote for it. Party was expelled from the parliament completely. Now some other group of the party members are trying to organize the Congress or executive body to expel the members from the party, if those members have publicly declared that they have voted against their party.
My question is - considering that political parties have special place in the democracies and that they are receiving government funds and can not be private clubs - is it lawful to exper party members from the party if they have voted against their party or have declared publicly that they have voted against their party? Can such decision by the party Congress or the executive body of the party be challenged in the national courts of law and overturned by them?
OK, this country is Republic of Latvia.