Parliament’s new Vice-Presidents
On Tuesday afternoon, Parliament elects its 14 Vice-Presidents for the remaining two-and-a-half years of the current legislative term.
Nine Vice-Presidents were elected in the first ballot and three at the second ballot. The final two seats were filled at the third round of voting.
First ballot result
MEPs voting: 691
Blank or invalid votes: 11
Valid votes cast: 680
Absolute majority of votes cast needed to be elected: 341
The newly elected Vice-Presidents (by absolute majority) are shown below in the order in which they were elected:
1. Othmar KARAS (EPP, AT) 536
2. Pina PICIERNO (S&D, IT) 527
3. Pedro SILVA PEREIRA (S&D, PT) 517
4. Ewa KOPACZ (EPP, PL) 467
5. Eva KAILI (S&D, EL) 454
6. Evelyn REGNER (S&D, AT) 434
7. Rainer WIELAND (EPP, DE) 432
8. Katarina BARLEY (S&D, DE) 426
9. Dita CHARANZOVÁ (Renew, CZ) 406
Votes for the remaining candidates are shown below:
- Michal ŠIMEČKA (Renew, SK) 326
- Roberts ZĪLE (ECR, LV) 322
- Nicola BEER (Renew, DE) 315
- Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS (The Left, EL) 299
- Heidi HAUTALA (Greens/EFA, FI) 290
- Fabio Massimo CASTALDO (NI, IT) 275
- Marcel KOLAJA (Greens/EFA, CZ) 247
- Mara BIZZOTTO (ID, IT) 173
- Lívia JÁRÓKA (NI, HU) 169
Second ballot result
MEPs voting: 698
Blank or invalid votes: 7
Valid votes cast: 691
Absolute majority of votes needed to be elected: 346
10. Michal ŠIMEČKA (Renew, SK) 494
11. Nicola BEER (Renew, DE) 410
12. Roberts ZĪLE (ECR, LV) 403
Votes for the remaining candidates are shown below:
- Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS (The Left, EL) 329
- Heidi HAUTALA (Greens/EFA, FI) 294
- Fabio Massimo CASTALDO (NI, IT) 251
- Marcel KOLAJA (Greens/EFA, CZ) 239
- Mara BIZZOTTO (ID, IT) 211
Lívia JÁRÓKA (NI, HU) withdrew her candidacy ahead of the second round of voting.
Third ballot result
MEPs voting: 670
Blank or invalid votes: 12
Valid votes cast: 658
13. Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS (The Left, EL) 492
14. Heidi HAUTALA (Greens/EFA, FI) 384
Votes for unsuccessful candidates are shown below:
- Fabio Massimo CASTALDO (NI, IT) 247
- Mara BIZZOTTO (ID, IT) 193
Marcel KOLAJA (Greens/EFA, CZ) withdrew his candidacy ahead of the third round of voting.
Election rules
Under Rule 15, candidates for the Vice-President positions are nominated on the same basis as for the President – i.e. either by a political group or by a group of MEPs reaching the low threshold (1/20th of MEPs).
The 14 Vice-Presidents are elected by a single ballot, with an absolute majority of votes cast. If the number of successful candidates is lower than 14, a second ballot is held for the remaining seats, under the same conditions. If a third vote is necessary to complete the process, a simple majority is sufficient (Rule 17).
Role of Vice-Presidents
The 14 Vice-Presidents and five Quaestors, together with the President, comprise Parliament’s Bureau. The Bureau lays down rules for Parliament’s smooth functioning. Among its other duties, it draws up Parliament’s preliminary draft budget and decides on administrative, staff and organisational matters.
In addition to their roles in the Bureau, Vice-Presidents can replace the President including in chairing plenary debates and in representing the Parliament at specific ceremonies or acts, when necessary.
In electing the members of the Bureau, political groups aim to ensure that the Vice-Presidents and Quaestors broadly reflect the numerical strength of the groups and take into account the voting results of the President’s election.
