MADRID, April 3 (Reuters) - The Spanish government said on Tuesday it wanted to ban allies of Basque separatist rebels ETA from regional elections in May.

Attorney General Candido Conde Pumpido has asked the Supreme Court to prohibit a new party, Abertzale Sozialisten Batasuna, on the grounds it was a front for an older group which is already outlawed because of its links to ETA.

"Right from the start, this group has been clearly illegal," Conde Pumpido told a news conference.

The move dampens hopes of any restart soon of negotiations to end ETA's four-decade-long fight for independence of the Basque Country, during which it has killed more than 800 people.

Batasuna has failed to comply with government demands that it condemn violence. The banned party, which probably has the support of about 15 percent of Basques, says the elections will not be fully democratic if it does not run.

Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero last year said he was breaking off peace attempts after ETA killed two people with a car bomb at Madrid airport.

In private, officials have said the peace process continued although police have cracked down on ETA suspects, making 11 arrests since last week and seizing explosives.

Polls show most of the Basque Country's two million people do not want independence. (Additional reporting by Teresa Larraz)

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