The new Speaker of the House of Representatives will be elected for the first time by electronic voting, as stated on Wednesday by DIKO MP Zacharias Koulias, who chaired, as the oldest member of the House, the information meeting of the parties regarding the procedures for the election of the new Speaker, which will take place on Thursday afternoon.
As Mr. Koulias explained, in the event of a tie between two candidates in a second repeat vote, a draw will follow, which will be carried out by the chairman of the body.
He also mentioned that the new regulation provides for the election of a deputy Speaker of the House, as well as a deputy to the deputy.
"The process began yesterday. We were informed by the officials what procedure we will follow, under the new regulation, which was enacted for the first time," Mr. Koulias initially stated.
"The old system is being terminated and the new regulation is being followed," he added.
As Mr. Koulias mentioned, the new regulation provides that the 56 MPs will be announced by name, then the assurance will be given and then the vote will follow.
He noted that candidates for the presidency of the Parliament will be proposed by those present and after they accept their candidacy, a vote will be held.
"If one of the colleagues secures 29 votes, which is the magic number, then he will be the new Speaker of the House. If not, then the vote will follow with the two most popular candidates," noted Mr. Koulias.
He also clarified that, if some candidates have a tie, the vote will be repeated by the entire body and then the regular vote will follow.
If at the end there is a tie again, then a draw will follow.
He gave as an example a case in which one candidate advances to the second round and two others tie for second place.
As he stated, in such a case, a vote will be held by the entire body between the two tied candidates.
If there is a tie again, a draw will be made by the incumbent. The same applies to the second round, noted Mr. Koulias.
"The only difference from the previous nominations of Speakers of the House is that now it will be done with the electronic system. Everything will be on the screen with the names. Everyone will vote at the same time," he added.
When asked about who will replace the Speaker of the House when he is absent, Mr. Koulias said that "the new regulation provides that they can elect a deputy and the deputy's deputy."
Mr. Koulias clarified that the election of deputies is not included in tomorrow's procedure.
"Tomorrow on the agenda is the election of the Speaker of the House of Representatives and next Thursday will be the regular session. These are matters of procedure, they have time."
"Each MP will have the candidates in front of them and will go to vote with a push of a button," said Mr. Koulias in relation to tomorrow's vote.
In conclusion, Mr. Koulias stated that it is up to the discretion of the presiding officer to grant a break after each vote, so that there is time for the necessary consultations and deliberations between the members of parliament and the parties.
Source: KYPE
