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Health Ministry Bill Passes Amid Tension

A health ministry bill was passed by Parliament on Wednesday amid controversy over an article on price reductions in pharmaceuticals.

Originally, 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 in favor, 72 against, and 10 declaring "present" out of a total of 246 deputies.

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 the acting parliament president.

SYRIZA parliamentary representative Panagiotis Lafazanis denounced the process as violating the constitution and Parliament rules.

Meanwhile,the Independent Greeks party said they were not participating in the vote.