Parliament passes controversial health bill on medical drug pricing

20:04 27/11/2013 - Πηγή: Matrix24

The main opposition SYRIZA had unsuccessfully requested that the article on medicine prices be voted on separately, as they disagreed with it.

The amendment was passed in a roll-call vote with 164 yeas, 72 nays, and 10 declaring “present” out of a total of 246 deputies.

The amendment is going to the vote without additional discussion, presiding MP Ioannis Tragakis had said as he opened the procudure, as an earlier session had already heard arguments for and against.

Roll-call

voting had been requested by PASOK deputies who support the amendment, while a request by main opposition SYRIZA deputy Panagiotis Kouroumblis for separate voting on each of the amendment’s five articles was rejected by Tragakis.

The party’s Parliamentary representative Panagiotis Lafazanis charged that the process violated the constitution and contravened Parliament rules, as deputies were forced to vote either yes or no for all articles as a whole.

Meanwhile, Independent Greeks (ANEL) party said they were not participating in the vote, while veteran SYRIZA deputy Manolis Glezos intervened and called on Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis to apologize for comments related to Kouroumblis.

Protests on the voting of the amendment as a bloc were loud enough to prompt Meimarakis to take the podium during voting and ask deputies not to create tension. “We have ruined the Parliament’s image enough over procedural issues,” Meimarakis said.

Source: AMNA