February 12, 2025 09:41 GMT
GREECE: Tasoulas Elected President In 4th Round Of Voting
GREECE
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Konstantinos Tasoulas has been elected as the next Greek President in the fourth round of voting in the country's parliament. Tasoulas hails from the same centre-right New Democracy (ND) party as PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis and since 2019 has served as President (speaker) of the Hellenic Parliament.
- The Greek presidency is a largely ceremonial role. The president serves as commander-in-chief of the armed forces and also comes to the fore during and after elections to facilitate coalition talks if no single party has won a majority. The next parliamentary election is not due until spring 2027.
- The election of Greek presidents is indirectly carried out by lawmakers in parliament. In the first and second rounds, a supermajority of 200 out of 300 members is required to elect a president. With ND holding 156 seats this was impossible, as was the 180 seat threshold required in the second round. In the fourth round, the threshold drops to a simple majority of 151.
- In the event, 160 lawmakers backed Tasoulas, with 34 supporting centre-left PASOK-KINAL candidate Tasos Giannitsis, 29 for far-left SYRIA's Louka Katseli, and 14 for the far-right Niki's Konstantinos Kyriakoy. A total of 39 abstained by voting present and 24 lawmakers were absent.
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