The third and decisive vote on which articles of the Constitution will be revised will be determined by the revisionary Parliament. As was the case in the first vote at the end of July, today only MPs from the New Democracy parliamentary group and some independent MPs voted in favor. Notably, no article received the 180 votes required for passage. A total of 293 MPs participated in the vote, while former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and independent MPs Marios Salmas, Burhan Baran, and Giannis Kontis were absent. The only notable difference from the previous vote was PASOK’s “present” vote on articles it agrees should be revised.
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Constitutional revision: How MPs voted
Specifically:
- Article 16, operation of non-state universities: 160 yes, 95 no, 38 present
- Article 30, single term for the President of the Republic: 158 yes, 133 no, 2 present
- Article 86, criminal liability of ministers: 159 yes, 96 no, 38 present
- Article 90, promotion to senior judicial positions: 159 yes, 94 no, 40 present
- Article 103, permanent tenure of civil servants: 161 yes, 132 no, 0 present
The next milestone now falls to the revisionary Parliament that will be formed after the next general election, where 180 votes will be needed to revise the 33 articles for which the governing majority is seeking changes.
It should also be noted that Parliament Vice President Thanasis Bouras informed the chamber that at least 100 MPs cast their votes by postal ballot.
