First round of voting for #EuropeanParliamentPresident complete

The result of the first round of voting is as follows:

Candidates and groups

Four candidates are standing for election, who presented their vision for their leadership of the House in five-minute speeches. To view the videos of the candidates’ speeches, click on their respective names below.

Statement by Ska KELLER (Greens/EFA, DE)

Statement by Sira REGO (GUE/NGL, ES)

Statement by David-Maria SASSOLI (S&D, IT)

Statement by Jan ZAHRADIL (ECR, CZ)

Election rules

Under Rule 15 of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, candidates for the presidency may be put forward either by a political group or by 1/20th of Members, i.e. 38 MEPs (“low threshold” introduced by the revised Rules of Procedure). The election is held by secret ballot. To be elected, a candidate must win an absolute majority of the valid votes cast, i.e. 50% plus one (Rule 16). Blank or spoiled ballots do not count in calculating the majority required.

If no candidate is elected in the first ballot, the same or other candidates can be nominated for a second round under the same conditions. This can be repeated in a third round if necessary, again with the same rules. If no-one is elected at the third ballot, the two candidates with the most votes in that round proceed to a fourth and final ballot, where the one receiving the greater number of votes wins.