The 56 newly elected Members of Parliament in Cyprus will be sworn in on Thursday afternoon and will then proceed to elect the new President of the House of Representatives.
The Democratic Rally (DISY) has announced the candidacy of MP Annita Demetriou- the first ever female candidate for the post. Democratic Party (DIKO) has decided to put forward the candidacy of his President Nicolas Papadopoulos. The presidency is also being contested by far-right National Popular Front (ELAM) President Christos Christou, as well as Cyprus Greens President Charalambos Theopemptou.
Left wing AKEL has said that its Secretary General Andros Kyprianou is also a candidate, whereas Social Democratic EDEK has said that its MPs will decide during the procedure which position to take and has authorised its President Marinos Sizopoulos to submit his candidacy if he deems it necessary before the plenary.
The voting procedure for the election of the new President of the House of Representatives provides that up to three rounds of voting can take place.
In the first round in order to be elected a candidate must have at least 29 votes, in the second round a candidate is elected if he or she has been voted by two fifths of MPs or 22 out of the 56 MPs. In the third round the person who has gained the most votes is elected. If no one is elected then the plenary is interrupted and parties must then hold consultations until they reach a solution.