Monday
Presidential contenders have to confirm their candidature by 18.00 local time in Strasbourg, France. A candidate can either be proposed by one of the 7 political groups or by at least 40 MEPs. Outgoing President Borrell will finish his term with an address to Members on Monday where he will look back over his time in office.
Tuesday
The sitting opens under the chairmanship of the oldest MEP, Mr. Giovanni Berlinguer, an Italian Socialist born in 1924.
Each candidate will have five minutes to present themselves and their aspirations for the post to MEPs after which the 1st round begins:
MEPs mark one preferred candidate on the paper ballot and put it into one of the eight ballot boxes which will be in the hemicycle. The process will be overseen by eight tellers chosen by lots from among MEPs.
The candidate who gets 50 % + one vote of the valid paper ballots (an absolute majority), becomes new President.
In case none succeed in the first round, the whole process can be repeated twice. If no one succeeds in the third round, only the two most successful candidates from the third round will pass to the fourth ballot for a final run off. When elected, the new President will take the chair.
Four declared candidates
Those who have declared their candidacies thus far are (in alphabetical order):
Mr. Jens-Peter Bonde, Danish, chairman of the Independence and Democracy group.
Mrs. Monica Frassoni, Italian, chair of the Greens /European Free Alliance.
Mr. Hans-Gert Poettering, chairman of the European People's Party and European Democrats, the largest group in the Parliament.
Mr. Francis Wurtz, French, chair of the European United Left / Nordic Green Left.
Vote of 14 Vice-Presidents and 6 Quaestors
Following this, the election of vice-presidents can start. The whole process is very similar. The nomination of the candidates is the same as in case of President. MEPs will vote for 14 Vice-Presidents.
Those candidates who get absolute majority of valid votes in the first round become the Vice-Presidents. In case there are still some places vacant, a second round will follow. In case a third round is needed, the relative majority is enough.
If the number of candidates proposed is the same as the number of positions to be filled - fourteen - then they will be elected by acclamation, with a vote held simply to determine the order of precedence.
Once all Vice-Presidents are elected, MEPs can vote for 6 Quaestors. The vote is exactly the same as in the case of Vice-Presidents.
