Members of the Greek Parliament voted on Monday evening to set up a committee of inquiry into the wiretapping of the mobile phone of PASOK-KINAL leader Nikos Androulakis.
The motion received the backing of 142 opposition MPs of the total 299 lawmakers present at the voting procedure.
All 157 MPs from ruling New Democracy essentially abstained by voting “present”.
The party earlier said it was not opposed to the proposal but wanted the investigation to be extended further back in time, in order to gain a fuller picture, as also requested by the Communist Party.
Following the vote, Parliamentary Speaker Kostas Tasoulas announced that 29 MPs will participate in the committee, in proportion to the parliamentary strength of the parties. Fifteen members will come from New Democracy, 8 from SYRIZA, 2 from PASOK-Movement of Change, 1 from the Communist Party, 1 from Greek Solution, 1 from MeRA25 and 1 from the group of independent MPs.
Tasoulas also set a deadline of one month for the completion of the committee’s work and the submission of its report. However, the committee of inquiry can request an extension from Parliament.
Under parliamentary rules, committees of inquiry require the support of the absolute majority of MPs present, which must not be less than 120 lawmakers.
