Roberta Metsola, Alice Kuhnke, Kosma Złotowski and Sira Rego are running for the post of Parliament’s President for the second half of the 2019-2024 term.
Parliament’s Vice-President Pedro Silva Pereira (S&D, PT) announced the four names to plenary on Monday evening, once the deadline for the first round of voting had closed.
Roberta Metsola (EPP, MT), Alice Kuhnke (Greens/EFA, SE), Kosma Złotowski (ECR, PL) and Sira Rego (The Left, ES) will make short presentations on Tuesday at 9.00, immediately before the first voting round, which will take place between 9.30 and 10.15, with the result announced at 11.00.
Candidacies are put forward by a political group or by a group of MEPs reaching the so-called low threshold, i.e. 1/20th of MEPs, or 36 out of 705 Members when all seats are filled. Candidates can be proposed, or withdrawn, ahead of each voting round.
To be elected, they will need to win an absolute majority of valid votes, cast by secret vote, i.e. 50% plus one. Due to the pandemic, the vote will be held remotely. If after three rounds, no candidate has been successful, the two candidates with the most votes in the third round will proceed to a fourth and final vote, in which the candidate with the most votes is elected.
The result of a potential second round of voting would be announced to plenary at 13.00; at 16.30 if there is a third round, and at 18.30 if a fourth one were necessary. Follow @EuroparlPress in Twitter for updates.
The newly-elected President may then deliver an opening address before presiding over the election of the remaining members of Parliament’s Bureau (Tuesday and Wednesday).
Background
The President enjoys a broad range of executive and representative powers set out in Rule 22. Other than the duties expressly set out there, the President’s authority extends to “all powers that are necessary to preside over the proceedings of Parliament and to ensure that they are properly conducted”. The process for the election of the EP President is set out in Rules 14 to 16 of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure.