Next Wednesday, August 28th, with the resumption of the Parliament‘s plenary session, the resignation of Mr. Othon Iliopoulos from his parliamentary position will be officially announced.
On the same day, the Speaker of the Parliament, Konstantinos Tasoulas, will contact the first runner-up on SYRIZA’s state ballot, Popi Tsapanidou, to confirm if she accepts the appointment to the vacant seat.
It is worth noting that after Iliopoulos’ resignation, the Speaker’s associates clarified:
a. Resignation from a parliamentary position is, according to the Constitution, a right of the MP. Once submitted, it cannot be revoked.
b. The resignation is followed by its announcement in the Parliament’s plenary session. After the announcement, the seat is filled according to election law. In this case, the first runner-up on SYRIZA’s state ballot, Ms. P. Tsapanidou, will be called to be sworn in and take on duties.
If Ms. Tsapanidou accepts the appointment, the swearing-in will take place on Friday, August 30th.
If she declines, Mr. Tasoulas will pass the appointment offer to the next person on the list, Mr. Michalis Kalogirou, followed by Jenny Leivadariou, Athanasios Tsakris, Zorzeta Lali and finally Stefanos Kasselakis.
It should be noted that SYRIZA’s leadership is pressuring the runners-up to decline the appointment so that the seat can go to Mr. Kasselakis. So far, only Ms. Lali has stated that she will keep the seat when her turn comes up.
