Procedure for roll-call votes (Rule 35 of the Rules of Procedure)
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- See Doc. 6954, report of the Committee on Rules of Procedure, Rapporteur: Sir Anthony Durant. Text adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of the Assembly, on 4 November 1993.
- Thesaurus
1. The Assembly considers that the provisions regarding the procedure for roll-call votes should be completed and in particular specify that once a member has voted he may not change his vote.
2. It therefore decides to amend Rule 35 of the Rules of Procedure as follows:
3. "Rule 35 - Methods of voting - (1 to 3 unchanged)
4. Voting by roll-call shall commence five minutes after warning-bells have been rung. The roll shall be called in alphabetical order, beginning with the name of a Representative drawn by lot. Voting shall be by word of mouth and shall be expressed by "Yes", "No" or "abstain". When the final name on the list has been called, the President shall ask if any other member has still to be called, and when any such vote has been recorded the President shall announce that the vote is closed.
Once he has voted, a member may not change his vote.
5. Only affirmative and negative votes shall count in calculating the number of votes cast. The President shall be responsible for the counting of votes and shall announce the result, which may not subsequently be modified. The votes shall be recorded in the Minutes of Proceedings of the sitting in the alphabetical order of Representatives' names.
6. During the different stage of voting, nobody may be called to speak.
7. Only those Representatives, or their authorised Substitutes who have signed the register of attendance for them for a specific sitting, shall be entitled to vote.
8. 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 for the purpose of calculating the number of votes cast."
