As Parliament holds its inaugurating sitting, MPs may proceed to elect the Speaker, the Deputy Speakers and appoint Parliament’s Standing Bureau.

The head of the legislature is elected by secret vote and each parliamentary group may propose one nominee. Under Parliament Statutes, an electoral committee is appointed by the groups which receives the nominations, organizes the ballot and counts the votes.

The nominee who gets the votes of a majority of all the elected MPs wins. If such a majority is not obtained, a second runoff is held with the candidates with the most votes from the first round. If the vote is evenly split, the process starts from the beginning, with the groups being free to replace their candidates.

The elected Speaker proposes candidates for Deputy Speakers after consultations with the groups and Parliament holds an open vote to appoint them.

The Standing Bureau, which is Parliament’s organizational body, is appointed on a proportional basis and includes ex officio the Speaker and the Deputy Speakers. Its size and members are decided by Parliament decision following proposals from the parliamentary groups, and becomes operational as soon as three-thirds of its members effectively take office.

The Standing Bureau assembles whenever requested by the Speaker or one-third of its members. Any Bureau member may be revoked by the group that appointed him or her by a majority of the group members.

The Standing Bureau proposes the schedule of plenary meetings, prepares the orders of business, and formally proposes members on standing committees following requests from the groups. The Bureau also oversees the work of the standing committees.

The tenth legislature, elected on February 24, is assembling today for its inaugural meeting.