On amendments to Parliament’s Rules of Procedure on proxy voting during pregnancy and immediately after childbirth
AFCO-PR-791904
Committee on Constitutional Affairs · Rapporteur: Juan Fernando López Aguilar
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A draft report proposes a new Rule 193a of Parliament's Rules of Procedure allowing a Member who is pregnant or has given birth to vote by proxy in plenary.¶¶ The proxy may vote only for the delegating Member and for quorum purposes, for up to three months before the estimated birth date and six months after the birth.¶ The rule sets conditions on designating, ending and revoking a delegation, limits each Member to one proxy, and covers all forms of voting including secret ballots.¶¶¶ A proxy vote counts as the delegating Member's vote; corrections and written explanations remain with her, and roll-call records must show the proxy's identity.¶¶ The Bureau is to adopt only technical and administrative arrangements, and the amendments enter into force once the Council Decision and the Statute amendments do.¶¶
Committee position. The rapporteur proposes that Parliament amend its Rules of Procedure by adding Rule 193a on proxy voting during pregnancy and immediately after childbirth, with the Bureau empowered to adopt implementing arrangements.¶¶
Key points
- Creates Rule 193a allowing a Member who is pregnant or has given birth to have her vote cast in plenary by another Member as proxy.¶¶
- Limits proxy voting to a maximum of three months before the estimated date of birth and six months after the birth.
- Subjects proxy voting to the general conditions in the Statute for Members; the delegation covers only casting the vote and quorum representation.¶
- Requires the delegating Member to designate a proxy with that Member's consent; the delegation is registered and ends on a set date, at the latest six months after the birth.¶
- Ends a delegation at the end of the parliamentary term, if either Member ceases to be a Member, or when the delegating Member is physically present in the Chamber during a plenary sitting.
- Allows revocation, new designation or relinquishment only from the beginning of a voting session if registered beforehand; a new delegation replaces the previous one and an ended delegation does not revive.
- Allows each Member only one proxy at a time and each proxy only one delegating Member at a time.¶
- Provides that only the proxy may cast the delegating Member's vote, may vote differently from his or her own vote, and that proxy voting applies to all forms of voting including secret ballots.¶
- Attributes a valid proxy vote to the delegating Member with the same effect as a personal vote; only the delegating Member may correct it.¶
- Lets the delegating Member submit a written but not oral explanation of vote; the proxy may not explain the vote, and roll-call minutes must record the proxy's identity.¶
- Attributes to the delegating Member no other act of the proxy than votes under the Rule and quorum representation.¶
- Empowers the Bureau to lay down only technical and administrative arrangements, which must not restrict or extend the Rule's rights and must ensure secrecy and traceability.¶
Who is affected
- Members of Parliament who are pregnant or have given birth: they may delegate their plenary vote for the set periods.¶
- Members acting as proxies: they cast the delegating Member's vote and represent her for the quorum, with no other powers.¶¶
- The Bureau: it may adopt only technical and administrative arrangements for implementing the Rule.¶