For debate in the Standing Committee - See Rule 47

Pour débat à la Commission Permanente - Voir article 47 du Règlement

 

Election of Assembly Vice-Presidents

Report (1)

Doc. 7874

7 July 1997

Rapporteur: Mr Henning GJELLEROD, Denmark, Socialist Group

 

 

Summary

In November 1996 the Assembly adopted Resolution 1105 which changed the system of apportionment of Bureau seats, and this makes it necessary for the Rules of Procedure to be up-dated insofar as the rules on the election of Vice-Presidents are concerned.

 

I. Draft resolution

1. The Assembly recalls that on 7 November 1996 it adopted Resolution 1105 which contains a revised system of apportionment of Bureau seats. This system makes it clear, in particular, that Bureau seats for Vice-Presidents are allocated to national delegations and that no delegation is entitled to more than one seat.

 

2. The Assembly therefore decides to amend Rule 9 of its Rules of Procedure as follows:

i.To replace paragraph 1 by the following text:

"No Representative may stand as a candidate for the office of President unless nominated in writing by three or more Representatives or Substitutes before the opening of the first ballot."

ii. After paragraph 1, to add the following new paragraph:

"No Representative or Substitute may be nominated Vice-President unless proposed in writing by the leader of the national delegation concerned, on behalf of that delegation."

iii. To replace paragraphs 6 and 7 by the following paragraph:

"One Vice-President shall be nominated in respect of each national delegation entitled to a seat under the system of apportionment of Bureau seats referred to in Rule 8, paragraph 1. Where no nomination is made by a national delegation entitled to a seat, that seat shall remain vacant until such nomination is made."

iv.To replace paragraph 8 by the following paragraph:

"The Vice-Presidents shall take precedence in order of their date of nomination, and then by age."

 

II. Explanatory memorandum by Mr GJELLEROD

 

A. Introduction

1. During the meeting of the Bureau of the Assembly on 27 January 1997, several members mentioned the issue of the modalities of electing Assembly Vice-Presidents at the opening of the 1997 session. They questioned in particular the possibility for individual candidates to stand against those of the same nationality proposed by national delegations. In the end, an ad hoc solution was agreed which meant that for the delegations concerned, it was indicated on the ballot paper who was the delegation candidate. As regards two delegations, both entitled to a seat under the apportionment system, since they had not put forward any candidate, the election in respect of those two countries was postponed to the next part-session. In order to clarify the matter, the Bureau instructed the Committee on Rules of Procedure to examine the modalities of electing Vice-Presidents. The committee considered a draft report at its meeting on 22 April 1997, and approved the draft report and adopted the draft resolution at its meeting on 16 June 1997.

 

B. The issue

2. Rule 8, para. 1, provides:

"The Bureau shall consist of the President, of eighteen Vice-Presidents of the Assembly according to the system of apportionment of Bureau seats {see Appendix to Resolution 1105(1996)} and the Chairpersons (or their representatives) of the political groups..."

Rule 9, para. 1, furthermore provides:

"No representative may stand as a candidate for the office of President and no Representative or Substitute for the office of Vice-President unless he has been nominated in writing by three or more Representatives or Substitutes before the opening of the first ballot."

 

3. Rule 8, para. 1, was introduced by Resolution 1105 (appended) which was adopted by the Standing Committee in November 1996. In an Appendix to the Resolution, a revised system of apportionment of Bureau seats was agreed from which it is clear that Bureau seats for Vice-Presidents are allocated to national delegations and that no delegation is entitled to more that one seat. (2)

 

4. However, Rule 9, para. 1, leaves open the possibility for any Representative or Substitute to stand for the office of Vice-President so long as the candidate is nominated in writing by three Assembly members. Thus there is a risk, if an individual candidate stands for Vice-President against the one of the same nationality proposed by the national delegation, that both would be elected to the disadvantage of another national delegation entitled to a vice-presidency under Resolution 1105.

 

5. The inconsistency between Rules 8 and 9 needs to be corrected. The system of nominations contained in Resolution 1105 and its Appendix is a clear indication of the will of the Assembly on this issue.

 

6.Confirmation of this view was given by the fact that the majority of members of the Bureau were in favour of amending the Rules of Procedure and only allow those candidates for the office of Vice-President who enjoyed the clear support of the national delegation concerned. In practice, this means that the current modalities of the election of Vice-Presidents would be replaced by a system of nominations.

 

7. At its meetings on 22 April and 16 June 1997, a majority of the Committee on Rules of Procedure supported the modification of Rule 9 as regards the office of Vice-President. Individual candidates would continue to be allowed only for the office of President.

 

C. Proposals

 

8. In order to make the Rules of Procedure consistent with the recently adopted Resolution 1105 and with Rule 8, para. 1, it is proposed to align Rule 9, paragraphs 1, 6, 7 and 8.

 

9. Rule 9, para. 1 would read as follows:

"No Representative may stand as a candidate for the office of President unless nominated in writing by three or more Representatives or Substitutes before the opening of the first ballot."

 

10. A new paragraph should be introduced thereafter which would read as follows:

"No Representative or Substitute may be nominated Vice-President unless proposed in writing by the leader of the national delegation concerned, on behalf of that delegation."

 

This implies that it would no longer be possible to present individual candidates, supported by 3 members, for the office of Vice-President and that a system of nominations would replace elections.

 

11. Rule 9, paragraphs 6 and 7 would be replaced by a single paragraph worded as follows:

"One Vice-President shall be nominated in respect of each national delegation entitled to a seat under the system of apportionment of Bureau seats referred to in Rule 8, paragraph 1. Where no nomination is made by a national delegation entitled to a seat, that seat shall remain vacant until such nomination is made."

 

12. Rule 9, paragraph 8 would be replaced by the following paragraph:

"The Vice-Presidents shall take precedence in order of their date of nomination, and then by age."

 

D. Final comment

13. The Assembly is invited to adopt the draft resolution.

 

 

 

APPENDIX

 

PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE 1996 ORDINARY SESSION

 

Resolution 1105 (1996) (3)

on the composition of the Bureau of the Assembly

 

1. The Assembly considers that the composition of its Bureau needs to take account of the Council of Europe's enlargement and to make possible a greater continuity of the Bureau when it is renewed each year.

 

2. Consequently, the Assembly decides to modify the following provisions of its Rules of Procedure:

i. replace Rule 8, paragraph 1, of the Rules of Procedure by the following text:

"The Bureau shall consist of the President, of eighteen Vice-Presidents of the Assembly according to the system of apportionment of Bureau seats (4) and the chairpersons (or their representatives) of the political groups. If, in accordance with the Rules of Procedure, the delegation to which the President of the Assembly belongs may propose a Vice-President, he/she shall speak and vote on behalf of his/her delegation. The President may, however, vote in the case of a draw";

ii. in Rule 9, paragraph 6, of the Rules of Procedure, replace the word "seventeen" with the word "eighteen".

 

3. The Assembly decides that the new provisions shall enter into force at the opening of the 1997 session of the Assembly (27 January 1997).

 

Appendix to Resolution 1105

System for the attribution of seats in the Bureau for Vice-Presidents of the Assembly

 

1. Member states are divided into four categories:

 

2. Within these groups, seats in the Bureau are allocated for one ordinary session by following continuous English alphabetical order. Any new member state will be included in the relevant group and take its place according to English alphabetical order (5).

 

As regards groups II, III and IV, the annual renewal will be partial in order to ensure a greater continuity in the composition of the Bureau. For groups II and IV, this renewal will take place annually for a third of the national parliamentary delegations of which it is composed. On the other hand, this renewal will take place for of half the group III delegations.

 

3. The President of the Assembly should be taken into account in all cases. (6)

 

 

Reporting committee: Committee on Rules of Procedure

Budgetary implications for the Assembly: None

Reference to committee: Bureau decision of 27 January 1997

Draft resolution adopted by the committee on 16 June 1997

Members of the committee: Mrs Lentz-Cornette (Chairperson), Mr Rewaj, Mrs Pulgar, Mr Wallace (Alternate: Pattison) (Vice-Chairpersons), MM. Açba, Averchev, Besostri, Bianchi (Alternate: Lorenzi), Cardona, Daniel, Demetriou, Dias, Djerov, Sir Anthony Durant (Alternate: Sir Russell Johnston), MM. Eörsi, Etherington, Frankl (Alternate: Mel_ák), Gjellerod, Goovaerts (Alternate: Beaufays), Mrs Holand, MM. Jansson, Kandare, Korakas, Kostytsky, Laurinkus, Magnusson, Maltsev, Marten, Mozetic, Nastase (Alternate: Mrs Ionescu), Mrs Ojuland, Mrs Ragnarsdottir, MM. Schieder, Schloten, Seiler, Sinka, Slobodnik (Alternate: Mrs Bauer), Spahia, Tahiri, Verbeek, Vinçon.

 

N.B. The names of those members who took part in the vote are printed in italics.

Secretary of the committee : Mr Schade

 

 

Note: 1 . by the Committee on Rules of Procedure

 

Note: 2 . The only exception is the possibility, under certain conditions, for the delegation to which the President of the Assembly belongs to propose an additional candidate to the Bureau (see Rule 8, para. 1, and Resolution 1105).

For the allocation of Bureau seats in 1997, see also the Appendix below.

 

Note: 3 . Text adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of the Assembly, on

7 November 1996.

See Doc. 7685, report of the Committee on Rules of Procedure, rapporteur:

Mr Gjellerod.

 

Note: 4 . See appendix.

 

Note: 5 . In accordance with this system, Bureau seats have been attributed in 1997 to the following member States: France, Germany, Italy, Russia, United Kingdom (Group I), Poland, Spain, Turkey (Group II), Hungary, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden (Group III), Andorra, Cyprus, Estonia (Group IV).

 

Note: 6 . See also the possibility, under certain conditions, for the delegations to which the President of the Assembly belongs to propose an additional candidate to the Bureau, in accordance with the Rules of Procedure.

N.B. The chairpersons of the political groups or their representatives are members as of right of the Bureau of the Assembly.