Greek Opposition May Raise Idea Wednesday To Hold Vote Of No-Confidence In Gov't - Source

Greek conservative opposition party New Democracy may raise during a parliament session on Wednesday the idea to express no-confidence to the Greek government, headed by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, and the necessary signatures have already been collected, a source from the party told Sputnik on Tuesday

ATHENS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd January, 2019) Greek conservative opposition party New Democracy may raise during a parliament session on Wednesday the idea to express no-confidence to the Greek government, headed by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, and the necessary signatures have already been collected, a source from the party told Sputnik on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the Greek parliament will start the ratification of the name change deal with Macedonia, known as thPrespa agreement. The New Democracy opposes the deal, claiming that it harms the national interests of Greece.

"On Wednesday, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the party's president, may announce during the discussion that will start at the parliament's plenary session on Prespa agreement ratification the suggestion to initiate a vote of no-confidence in the government. To do this, signatures of 50 parliamentarians are needed, and they have already been collected. Everything is ready," the source said.

The source added that the party members were currently discussing if they should initiate a new no-confidence vote now.

"If the suggestion about a no-confidence vote is introduced, then the parliament chair will have to suspend the agreement ratification and to start a three-days-long discussion of no-confidence vote after a short break. If Mitsotakis introduces the suggestion, the voting will be held late on Friday, at around midnight," the source explained.

The government survived a no-confidence vote back in June, having secured support of 153 out of 300 lawmakers.

On January 11, the Macedonian parliament approved a constitutional amendment to rename the country after almost three decades of dispute with Greece. The Greek legislature is expected to ratify the deal on the name change, lifting the veto on Macedonian entry to the European Union and NATO.

On Sunday, around 60,000 people took part in a rally against the name change deal in Athens.