Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) - The CDU parliamentary group in North Rhine-Westphalia has again nominated André Kuper as President of the State Parliament. This was decided unanimously in the parliamentary group meeting on Tuesday, said a spokeswoman for the parliamentary group. The 61-year-old has held the highest office in the country since 2017.
"André Kuper passionately argues for a self-confident parliament and a strong democracy," said CDU faction leader Bodo Löttgen on Tuesday, according to a statement. In many difficult moments, Kuper found the right and clever words. "As the CDU parliamentary group, we think he should remain the face of the North Rhine-Westphalia state parliament in the years to come, and we are therefore proposing him for the upcoming plenary session."
The President of the State Parliament will be elected in the constituent session on June 1st. Traditionally, the strongest parliamentary group has the right to propose. The CDU clearly won the state elections on May 15th. According to the current Rules of Procedure of the State Parliament, the President of the State Parliament has three deputies. In the past legislative period, these offices were held by MPs from the SPD, Greens and FDP. The AfD parliamentary group's proposal failed in 2017. It is still open who the parliamentary groups want to nominate as future deputy presidents of the state parliament.
The President of the Landtag is the highest representative of the Landtag. "He protects the rights of Parliament, represents it externally, manages its business, chairs the plenary sessions and is at the head of the state parliament administration," says an overview of his functions and tasks. It is elected for the duration of the legislative period and is intended to act in a non-partisan manner.
