Parliament elects its new Vice-Presidents

MEPs have started selecting their Vice-Presidents for the new legislative period, with 11 elected in the first round of voting.

On Tuesday, in a secret vote by paper ballot, 11 Vice-Presidents were elected in the first round of voting.

First ballot result

MEPs voting: 701

Blank or invalid votes: 36

Valid votes cast: 665

Absolute majority of votes cast needed to be elected: 333

The newly elected Vice-Presidents (by absolute majority) are shown below in the order in which they were elected:

1. Sabine VERHEYEN (EPP, DE) 604

2. Ewa KOPACZ (EPP, PL) 572

3. Esteban GONZÁLEZ PONS (EPP, ES) 478

4. Katarina BARLEY (S&D, DE) 450

5. Pina PICIERNO (S&D, IT) 405

6. Victor NEGRESCU (S&D, RO) 394

7. Martin HOJSÍK (Renew, SK) 393

8. Christel SCHALDEMOSE (S&D, DK) 378

9. Javi LÓPEZ (S&D, ES) 377

10. Sophie WILMÈS (Renew, BE) 371

11. Nicolae ŞTEFĂNUȚĂ (Greens/EFA, RO) 347

Votes for the remaining candidates are shown below:

• Antonella SBERNA (ECR, IT) - 323

• Roberts ZĪLE (ECR, LV) - 306

• Younous OMARJEE (The Left, FR) - 272

• Klára DOSTÁLOVÁ (Patriots for Europe, CZ) - 214

• Fabrice LEGGERI (Patriots for Europe, FR) - 209

• Ewa ZAJĄCZKOWSKA-HERNIK (Europe of Sovereign Nations, PL) - 102

The process continues for the election of the remaining 3 Vice-Presidents.

The number of votes each successful candidate receives and the round of voting in which they are elected determines their order of precedence. Below you can find a detailed description of the procedure, including vote results for each round.

The election of Parliament’s five Quaestors is set to take place on Wednesday.

Role of Vice-Presidents and Quaestors

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.

Each Vice-President or Quaestor’s portfolio comprises their specific responsibilities within the Bureau. They are attributed by the President. 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. Quaestors deal with administrative matters directly affecting MEPs themselves, and they are members of the Bureau in an advisory capacity.

In electing the members of the Bureau, political groups aim to ensure that the Vice-Presidents and Quaestors broadly reflect the size of the groups and take into account the voting results of the President's election.

Election rules

Parliament’s Rules of Procedure set out how Bureau members are elected. As for the election of the President, nominations are put forward either by a political group or by a group of MEPs reaching the low threshold (1/20th of MEPs).

Vice-Presidents are elected in a single ballot, by an absolute majority of votes cast. If the number of successful candidates is less than 14, a second vote is held for the remaining seats, under the same conditions. If a third vote is necessary, a simple majority is sufficient. Vice-Presidents take precedence in the order in which they are elected and, in the event of a tie, by age. If voted by acclamation, a vote by secret ballot determines the order of precedence.

The election of Quaestors follows the same procedure as that for the election of Vice-Presidents.