Welcome to Liberal Democrat Voice’s coverage of the Annual Congress of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Europe, or ALDE for short. The Congress, which was officially opened yesterday evening, continues until Saturday.

In the run-up to next year’s European elections, the role of ALDE in leading the Europe-wide campaign is a key one, and so it was no surprise to see a high quality list of candidates for Vice-Presidential positions on the 2014/15 Bureau, which will be elected tomorrow. And because the Liberal Democrats represent about 15% of the entire electorate, six of the seven candidates put in an appearance at a private delegation meeting yesterday evening to explain why we should pick them.

The voting system is an odd one, in which electors must vote for as many candidates as there are vacancies (five, on this occasion) – no more, no less – which means potentially voting for candidates you might not like that much. It’s also, curiously, a first past the post the election.

So, who are the candidates from which our delegates must choose (in alphabetical order)?

1. Philippe De Backer (Open VLD, Belgium) – young, he chaired his Party’s youth wing until 2010, and a venture capitalist until he entered the European Parliament in 2011. The only candidate not to attend the hustings, has he given up on getting our votes?
2. Marc Guerrero i Tarrago (CDC, Catalonia) – standing for a third term, having been first elected in Barcelona in 2009. Keen to establish an online library to nurture liberal thinking and an alumni association to retain knowledge and experience, he wants to develop ALDE’s social media presence.
3. Lousewies van der Laan (D66, Netherlands) – another candidate seeking a third term, has a broad range of experience as a member of the European Parliament, the Dutch Parliament, and as Chef de Cabinet for the President of the International Criminal Court. The most prominent social liberal in the field.
4. Alexander Graf Lambsdorff (FDP, Germany) – seeking a second term, he wants to focus on issues of cohesion and expansion, seeking new allies in countries where ALDE is currently weak. Otto Graf Lambsdorff was his uncle, so he represents a bit of dynastic glamour.
5. Karin Riis-Jorgensen (Venstre, Denmark) is Chair of the European Privacy Association, having served fifteen years in the European Parliament. She believes that ALDE should be promoting the successes of the European project.
6. Niccolo Rinaldi (Italia dei Valori, Italy) – a former UN information officer in Afghanistan, he has been in the European Parliament since 2009. He has a strong commitment to networking and is keen on building links with liberal groupings in other continents.
7. Olle Schmidt (Folkpartiet, Sweden) – keen enough to want to meet Liberal Democrats on a recent visit to London, he wants a “decent Europe”, one where our moral obligations are honoured, and where decisions are more democratic and accountable.

It will be interesting to see how delegates decide, and the result will be faithfully reported here after votes are counted on Saturday afternoon.

UPDATE: It has been announced that Philippe De Backer has withdrawn his candidacy.

Mark Valladares is the joint Returning Officer for ALDE at their London Congress.