Voting in the Hellenic Parliament, whether secrete or open, is a common phenomenon. In most cases they are short, being ratification procedures in the constant lawmaking. Usually, after a certain article in a bill has discussed in Parliament, the MPs will raise their hands accordingly and the president will decide whether the article is voted by a majority or not.
In difficult situations the cotes will be counted in an open or secret cote. In both types of the voting process, especially when serious political matters are on the line, the results may be disputed, in turn causing major issues.
There have been cases where the secret vote allowed MPs to vote against their party, using the secret nature of the vote as cover. Both major parties have paid the cost in secret votes.
The election of Christos Sartzetakis as President of the Republic in 1985 is unforgettable, as he was elected by the infamous pink ballots that PASOK used, in order to control the vote outcome.
The secret vote process has its supporters, who argue that secrecy allows free expression of the voter’s will.
There is also the opinion that the secret vote will not ensure the expression of the voter-citizen’s will. That is because the citizen has assigned to the voting MPs the responsibility to maintain the political line and has the right to examine what each MP may vote.
This reflects the concern in public opinion,as a weird political game unfolds.
Top political party bodies convene, they debate, express many serious disagreements, they vote and ultimately keep their positions a secret.
However, they people have the right, for example, to know how many and which SYRIZA officers oppose their leader and government.
Stavros P. Psycharis
Originally published in the Sunday print edition
