Cyprus Parliament rejected on Thursday a draft bill concerning the privatization of semi-state organisations.
Following a heated debate at the plenary of the House of Representatives, the bill was rejected with 25 votes against, 25 in favor and 5 abstentions.
To pass, a bill needs majority vote in favour.
In late March 2013 the Cypriot authorities agreed with the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the IMF, collectively known as the Troika, on a €10 billion bailout.
One of the bailout’s preconditions was the implementation of a privatizations’ plan covering the disposal of Cyprus Telecommunications Authority and the Cyprus Ports Authority by 2016 and the Cyprus Electricity Authority by 2018 to generate €1.4 billion in order to restore public debt sustainability.
Goverment and the ruling party DISI had previously warned that the rejection of the bill might put at risk the disbursement of the third tranche of bailout money.
Earlier on Thursday, the Cyprus House plenary rejected a draft proposal submitted by left-wing AKEL, calling the government to renegotiate the request for privatizations with the Troika. A draft resolution submitted by socialist EDEK was also rejected. It called for the postponement of the vote on the draft bill to determine its possible impact on national security matters.
Several amendments submitted by center-right DIKO, and the Cyprus Green Party were also rejected, with only one amendment by ruling DISI party passing, due to the abstention of other parties.
During the plenum session, thousands of protestors surrounded the area to vent their opposition to the bill. Police had earlier erected barricades to prevent protestors from entering the building of the House, while some 200 police officers were deployed. Some protestors threw empty bottles at the police and an arrest was made for attempted transpassing, however the protest was peaceful and no injuries or other serious incidents occurred.