The Greek parliament failed to elect a new president in the first round of voting, which took place today, the online edition of the newspaper "Kathimerini" reported, BTA reported.
The president in Greece is elected by the parliament for five years with the possibility of a single renewal of the mandate. His election takes place with up to five votes, in the first two of which a majority of 200 deputies (out of a total of 300) is required, in the third - of 180, in the fourth - an absolute majority of 151 votes, and in the fifth, the candidate who received the most votes is declared elected. The separate votes are held every five days. Greek MPs vote for the president by roll call and without debate.
The mandate of current President Katerina Sakellaropoulou expires on March 13.
The conservative government's candidate Konstantinos (Kostas) Tassoulas, who was proposed by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and who was previously the speaker of parliament, received 160 votes in today's parliamentary vote. However, these votes are 40 less than the 200 votes needed for a clear victory, notes "Kathimerini".
Among the other three candidates, Louka Katseli, supported by the left-wing SYRIZA, secured 40 votes, while Anastasios (Tassos) Yannitsis, supported by the main opposition party, the center-left PASOK movement, collected 34 votes. Konstantinos (Kostas) Kyriakou, the candidate of the conservative party NIKI, received 14 votes.
The second round of voting, in which 200 votes will again be required to win, is scheduled for January 31. If no candidate reaches this number of votes, the requirement will drop to 180 votes in the third round and finally to 151 votes in the fourth round. Thassoulas' election is considered practically certain because the ruling New Democracy party has an absolute majority of 156 deputies and this would allow it to choose its candidate in the fourth round at the latest.