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Elam move starts horse trading for House president

ΤΕΛΕΤΗ ΑΝΑΚΗΡΥΞΗΣ ΝΕΩΝ ΜΕΛΩΝ ΒΟΥΛΗΣ ΤΩΝ ΑΝΤΙΠΡΟΣΩΠΩΝ
Elam leader Christos Christou

Nationalist party Elam got the ball rolling on Tuesday for the wheeling-and-dealing over the election of the new House President, as a number of names were being floated for the prestigious position.

In announcing that their leader Christos Christou will run for the House presidency, Elam seemed to throw a spanner in the works, disrupting one prominent scenario which had them allying with ruling Disy, Edek and Dipa to elect Edek leader Marinos Sizopoulos to the parliamentary sinecure.

It could be read as a signal from Elam to the ruling party – and the government – that they should not be taken for granted and that they’ll continue to act as the opposition.

There has been a great deal of speculation in the media over Sizopoulos landing the House presidency. It’s rumoured that this was promised to Sizopoulos by Disy a few months ago, in exchange for the Edek leader’s agreement to support the state budget so that it could finally pass through the legislature.

A temporary ‘centre-right’ coalition of Disy, Edek, Dipa and Elam would have been more than enough to elect Sizopoulos as House president.

The vote will take place on June 10, the first session of the plenary when the new MPs are also sworn in.

Although the horse-trading over the nomination has begun, it will take the parties a few more days to make up their minds in an extremely volatile environment given the delicate balance of power yielded by the May 30 parliamentary elections.

Another possibility sees main opposition Akel and Diko collaborating to elect a House president, most likely by nominating someone from one of the smaller parties – such as the Greens. The latter are said to be open to the offer.

Marios Garoyian – formerly with Diko and now with Dipa, the splinter group – may also have his sights on the position. He could be ‘wooed’ by ruling Disy who – in any scenario -are the chief powerbrokers having the most MPs (17) in parliament.

With the media snooping around, and the parties themselves second-guessing one another, daily Politis suggested that Disy boss Averof Neofytou – a seasoned political operator – may be deliberately leaking information about his party lending its support to a Sizopoulos candidacy.

The paper said Neofytou might be planning a ‘checkmate’ move – nominating Diko head Nicolas Papadopoulos. The trade-off would be Diko’s support to the Disy candidate for the 2023 presidential elections.

Such an alliance of convenience would also virtually ensure that the government’s legislation passes through the new parliament.

In the election of House president, several rounds of voting can take place. In the first round, the successful nominee is he or she who gathers half the votes of the MPs present plus one.

If the first round does not produce an outcome, in the second round the winner is the nominee who garners two-fifths of the votes in favour from MPs present.

And if the second round is inconclusive, a third round of voting is held, where the winner is the candidate securing the highest number of votes in favour from among the MPs present, regardless of quotas or ratios.

Should the third round end in deadlock, the parliamentary session is adjourned and the parties engage in out-of-session consultations until they strike a deal.

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