The House of Parliament approved the motion for a referendum on Sunday the 5th of July, with the roll call vote concluding shortly before 3am, early on Sunday morning.
Of the 298 MPs who were present, 178 voted in favor and 120 voted against the motion. The referendum was supported by SYRIZA and the Independent Greeks and opposed by New Democracy, the River and PASOK. The Communist Party, which also opposed the referendum, submitted its own proposal instead, calling for a rejection of both agreement proposals, along with a departure from the European Union.
The House of Parliament convened at noon on Saturday, following Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras‘ call for a referendum. In order for the referendum to take place on Sunday, the 5th of June, at least 151 MPs were necessary to support the motion.
The discussion opened with a speech by the Minister of Interior Nikos Voutsis, who argued that the call for a referendum is “absolutely imperative and useful”. Mr. Voutsis stressed that the referendum is necessary, as the choices presented will determine the future of the Greek people.
The parliamentary spokesman for PASOK and former party leader Evangelos Venizelos disputed government initiative for a referendum and argued that it conflicted with the Constitution. Earlier, Mr. Venizelos submitted an objection against the referendum proposal regarding its content to the President of Parliament Zoi Konstantopoulou.
SYRIZA’s spokesman in Parliament Nikos Filis responded to Mr. Venizelos and underlined that the referendum complied with the relevant constitutional provisions, as it referred to a critical national matter. Mr. Filis accused his colleague in PASOK of spreading propaganda and stated that the referendum demonstrates that the government respects the Greek people’s will.
Watch the session in Parliament live
