The House of Representatives was briefly thrown into disarray on Thursday when it turned out there were not enough MPs present to vote on proposed amendments to the constitution.

The plenum had been scheduled to vote on two amendments to the constitution, so as to enshrine the standalone right of every person to ‘a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment’.

Constitutional amendments require a two-thirds majority. In the 56-member parliament, that would mean at least 38 MPs.

But when the voting process was about to begin, those in attendance quickly realised there were fewer than 38 deputies present.

That led to recriminations and wrangling, with independent MP Andreas Themistocleous calling for the plenum session to be suspended, while Akel’s Giorgos Loukaides suggested a postponement.

House Speaker Annita Demetriou spoke of “a humiliation of the House of Representatives.”

In the end, the parliament secretary provided the solution. She assured MPs that a precedent existed for less than 38 MPs having voted for a constitutional amendment.

Demetriou then allowed the vote to take place. The amendment passed with 37 votes for.