The constitutive session of the new Congress that emerged from the general elections on July 23 will be led this Thursday by a Table of Ages made up entirely of Socialist deputies and which will be chaired by the president of the party and until now vice president of the Senate, Cristina Narbona. Francina Armengol, for the PSOE, and Cuca Gamarra, for the PP, are disputing the presidency of the Chamber. The result of the vote is unknown, since it depends on the votes of minority parties such as Junts, ERC, PNV and CC.
The Regulations of the Congress establish that this table will be headed by the oldest person of the 350 that make up the chamber, who will be assisted by the two youngest, as secretaries.
Thus, the presidency of this body has fallen to the former Minister of the Environment and now elected by Madrid Cristina Narbona, who returns to Congress, where she won a seat for the first time in 1996. Narbona, 72, will succeed in this position the also Socialist Agustín Zamarrón, known as 'the Valle Inclán del PSOE' for his physical resemblance to the author of 'Luces de Bohemia', who presided over the last two constitutive sessions, in 2019, but no longer stood for the July elections.
The veteran socialist will have the help of two colleagues who are opening seats. They are Ada Santana, the youngest deputy, elected by Las Palmas and general secretary of the Socialist Youth of the Canary Islands, who is 25 years old, and the deputy for Barcelona Ferran Verdejo, who is 26 and is secretary of the Youth Organization of the PSC and spokesperson for his party in the Cardona City Council since 2019.
The constitutive session of Congress will begin this Thursday at ten in the morning under the presidency of Narbona, who will open the session. Next, one of the secretaries will read the Royal Decree of convocation, the list of elected deputies and, if any, the contentious-electoral appeals filed, indicating those deputies that could be affected by its resolution.
The next step is the election of the nine members of the Congress Table, the governing body and collegiate representation of the Chamber, which is made up of the presidency, four vice-presidencies and four secretariats. Voting is secret and is carried out by placing the ballot in the ballot box, according to the procedure of article 37 of the House Regulations.
In the first place, the presidency of the Chamber will be elected. The deputies will be called one by one in alphabetical order, and each parliamentarian will write a single name on the ballot, which he will deposit in the ballot box. The Congress will be chaired by the person who obtains the support of the absolute majority of 176 deputies. If said majority is not obtained, a second vote will be held between the two deputies with the most votes, and the one with the greatest support will be elected president.
The four vice-presidencies are then elected in a single vote. Each deputy will write a single name and those who receive the most votes will be elected, in order. In this way, the first will occupy the first vice-presidency, and so on. With the same system the four secretariats are chosen. If there is a tie, successive votes will be held between the candidates equal in votes until it is settled.
Once the nine members of the Bureau have been elected, they will take their seats in the presidency of the Hemicycle. And then the act of compliance with the Constitution is carried out, firstly the members of the governing body, then the rest of the deputies in alphabetical order and finally the acting members of the Government who have obtained seats.
In this way, all the requirements established by the Organic Law of the General Electoral Regime (LOREG) and the Regulations of Congress are fulfilled: present the credential issued by the corresponding Electoral Board and the declaration of activities and abide by the Constitution; and in this way they acquire the full status of deputies.
Finally, the presidency of the Congress of Deputies for this XV Legislature will declare the Chamber constituted and will adjourn the session, which will notify King Felipe VI, the Senate and the Government.
The process to elect the members of the Senate Board will also start at 10:00 a.m. in the Upper House and will follow the same procedure to elect the president, two vice-presidents, and four secretaries.
