"As a Christian, I cannot keep silent about it," Ivas told the media, claiming that at the moment in question he was not thinking about the consequences.
"Seeing that Cehok's voting button was on, and knowing that Cehok would vote, I simply pushed the button," Ivas admitted today in response to media reports on the vote.
The media have quoted Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS) deputy Milorad Pupovac as saying that it was independent deputy Ivo Loncar who pushed the button, which Loncar resolutely dismissed accusing Ivas.
Ivas yesterday denied having voted instead of Cehok, but today he admitted that he had pushed Cehok's button once and added that he could neither confirm nor dismiss Pupovac's claim that it was Loncar who had voted instead of Cehok.
The latest episode does not end speculation about parliamentary voting two days after the parliament formally completed its sitting for this year.
The new question is whether the parliament on Thursday had the necessary majority when 75 deputies gave an authentic interpretation of changes to the Penal Code.
The opposition claims that the majority vote is not sufficient because the Penal Code is an organic law whose adoption requires an absolute majority of at least 77 votes, as does an authentic interpretation of a law.
The chairman of the Committee on the Constitution and Rules of Procedure, Drazen Bosnjakovic of the HDZ, has a different opinion and claims that 75 votes were enough to vote on the interpretation.
According to available information, some opposition deputies may turn to the Constitutional Court for help.