Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has expelled Heraklion MP Lefteris Avgenakis from the parliamentary group of New Democracy, following the approval of the party’s ethics committee.
Mitsotakis’ letter to President of the Parliament Constantine Tassoulas was read by the presidium during plenary. The number of ruling New Democracy MPs in now 157.
In a separate statement, Avgenakis described Mitsotakis’ decision to request his expulsion from the group as “absolutely respected” and declared, “I belong to New Democracy and will continue to support our party and government with all my strength.”
Parliament president suspends Avgenakis from attending parliament for two weeks
President of the Hellenic Parliament Constantine Tassoulas announced that MP from Heraklion Lefteris Avgenakis will be suspended for two weeks from attending Parliament sessions, following an incident reported by media.
“The conduct of our colleague Lefteris Avgenakis at the airport was unacceptable. I asked to meet him, he offered explanations for his behavior. I understand he also apologized publicly for this behavior, but I cannot accept this apology from a representative of the people and whose fundamental duty is to uphold the dignity of the institution we serve,” stressed Tassoulas.
Tassoulas emphasized that he reached this decision based on the Parliament’s rules of order stipulating that inappropriate behavior by an MP constitutes contempt for the constitution and state institutions.