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08 February, 2000
Parliament is set to re-elect President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos on Tuesday for a second five-year term with a sweeping majority, as both the ruling PASOK and main opposition New Democracy party's have endorsed his nomination.
The parliament plenary will hold a special session Tuesday evening for the first of three attempts to elect a President as set out by the Constitution. A successful election requires a two-thirds majority in the 300-member House.
President Stephanopoulos is set to be re-elected on the first attempt, as both premier Costas Simitis, whose PASOK party controls 161 seats, and ND leader Costas Karamanlis, whose party controls 103 seats, last week informed parliament president Apostolos Kaklamanis that their MPs would vote for Stephanopoulos in the roll-call vote.
Stephanopoulos is expected to receive a sweeping majority of 271 votes in the 300-seat House coming from the two major parties and the seven independent MPs -- five originating from ND, and one each from PASOK and DHKKI.
The Coalition of the Left and Progress (SYN), which controls 10 seats, has announced its MPs will vote for the only other candidate, nominated by SYN -- veteran left-wing leader Leonidas Kyrkos -- while the 11 Communist Party of Greece (KKE) MPs and eight Democratic Social Movement (DHKKI) MPs are expected to abstain from the vote and simply declare their presence in the House when called to vote.
After the voting process is completed, the president and vice-presidents of parliament will go to the Presidential Mansion to announce the result to the current President.
The incumbent President will be sworn in on Saturday, March 11, in parliament. After the swearing-in ceremony, Stephanopoulos will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, before returning to the Presidential Mansion to receive courtesy calls by the representatives of the country's political, military and judicial authorities.
Source: Athens News Agency
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