Rules of Procedure of the Assembly (January 2023)

(Resolution 1202 (1999) adopted on 4 November 1999) with subsequent modifications of the Rules of Procedure* 

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Voting

Rule 40 - Methods of voting

40.1. Only those representatives or, in their absence, the substitutes duly designated by the national delegation who have signed the register of attendance for a specific sitting, shall be entitled to vote.
40.2. The Assembly shall normally vote by using the electronic voting system.
40.3. If need be, the President may decide that the Assembly shall vote by show of hands or by standing up.
40.4. Only affirmative and negative votes shall count in calculating the number of votes cast. The President shall declare the voting closed and announce the result, which may not subsequently be modified. In case of an electronic vote, the numerical result shall be displayed publicly in the Chamber; the numerical results of votes on draft resolutions, recommendations and opinions to the Committee of Ministers shall also be recorded in the reports of the debates of the sitting.
40.5. Where the vote takes place by means of the electronic voting system, members’ individual votes shall be made public.
40.6. Voting by roll call can only be requested if the electronic system cannot be used for technical reasons. It will be taken if at least one sixth of the representatives of the Assembly authorised to vote, belonging to at least five national delegations, so request.
40.7. A roll call may be requested only for the whole of a draft text. It may be requested at any time during the debate but before the start of the vote on amendments or on the whole of the draft text if there are no amendments.
40.8. Voting by roll call shall proceed in the alphabetical order of the representatives’ names. Voting shall be by word of mouth and shall be expressed by “Yes”, “No” or “abstention” only. The President shall ask whether all members have been called before declaring voting closed and announcing the result. The votes are recorded in the reports of the debates of the sitting in the alphabetical order of the representatives’ names.
40.9. Once the President has declared the vote closed, a member may not change his or her vote.
40.10. Nobody may be called to speak during a vote.
40.11. In the case of appointments, voting shall take place by secret ballot. Only those ballot papers bearing the names of persons who have been duly entered as candidates before the opening of the first ballot shall be taken into account in calculating the number of votes cast.

Rule 41 - Majorities required

41.1. The following majorities are required:
41.1.a. for the adoption of a draft recommendation or a draft opinion to the Committee of Ministers, for the adoption of urgent procedure, for an alteration to the agenda, for the setting up of a committee, for the fixing of the date for the opening or resumption of ordinary sessions and a decision to dismiss the holder of an elective office, a majority of two thirds of the votes cast.
41.1.b. for the adoption of a draft recommendation on the initiation of a complementary joint procedure between the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly in response to a serious violation by a member State of its statutory obligations, a majority of two thirds of the votes cast and a number of votes in favour equivalent to at least one third of the total number of members of the Assembly authorised to vote;
41.1.c. in respect of appointments, an absolute majority of the votes cast at the first ballot and a relative majority at the second ballot ; in the event of a tie-vote between candidates in the second ballot, successive ballots shall be held until one candidate obtains a relative majority;
41.1.d. for the adoption of a draft resolution and for any other decision, a majority of the votes cast in the case of a tie the question being rejected.

Rule 42 - Quorum

42.1. The Assembly may deliberate, decide upon procedural motions, and agree to adjourn, whatever the number of representatives present.
42.2. All votes other than votes by roll call shall be valid whatever the number of members voting, unless, before the voting has begun , the President has been requested to ascertain whether there is a quorum. At least one sixth of the representatives authorised to vote , belonging to at least five national delegations, have to vote in favour of the request. To ascertain whether there is a quorum, the President, before proceeding to a vote on the subject matter that prompted the request, invites representatives to mark their presence in the Chamber using the electronic voting system.
42.3. The quorum is one third of the number of representatives of the Assembly authorised to vote.
42.4. A vote by roll call shall not be valid, nor the result made public, unless one third of the representatives authorised to vote took part. The President may decide to ascertain whether there is a quorum, using the procedure of Rule 42.2. , before proceeding to a vote by roll call.
42.5. In the absence of a quorum, the vote shall be postponed until the next sitting or, on a motion from the Chair, until a subsequent sitting. The Assembly proceeds to the next item on the agenda.
42.6. If, owing to the absence of a quorum, the Assembly is unable to take a decision on one of the procedural motions specified in Rule 37 , the President shall declare that motion to be null and void.

Rule 43 - Right to vote

43.1. The right to vote is an individual one. Voting by proxy is prohibited. A Substitute authorised to sit in place of an absent representative shall vote in his or her own name.