The newly constituted Plenary of the House of Representatives, which emerged from the parliamentary elections of May 24, convenes on Thursday afternoon, to elect the House President.
The sitting has been scheduled for 1600 and will begin with the swearing-in of the 56 members of parliament and the representatives of the religious groups. This will be followed by the election of the new House President, a process being conducted for the first time under the revised framework approved by the outgoing members of Parliament.
The most significant change concerns the second round of voting. In the first round, a candidate must secure at least 29 votes, representing an absolute majority of the total number of MPs, to be elected. If no candidate obtains the required majority, the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes will proceed to a second round, during which the candidate who secures the most votes will be elected.
In the event of a tie between candidates competing for a place in the second round, a repeat ballot will be held. Should the tie persist in the final round, the new Speaker will be determined by a public draw conducted under the responsibility of the presiding officer of the sitting.
Until a Speaker is elected, the sitting will be chaired by the oldest MP, unless that person is a candidate for the office, in which case the role will pass to the next oldest member. In the present case, the oldest MP is Democratic Party (DIKO) MP, Zacharias Koulias.
Interest for candidacy has been expressed so far by the leaders of DISY, Annita Demetriou, AKEL, Stephanos Stephanou, and ELAM. DIKO is expected to decide before the plenary session on whether its President, Nikolas Papadopoulos, will be a candidate.
A second round is considered the most likely outcome, as none of the candidates is expected to secure the 29 votes required for election on the first ballot. The outcome is expected to be shaped by the decisions of the smaller parties and the choices made following the conclusion of the first round.