National Assembly: Herminie to preside until election of new Speaker |14 September 2016

Following the election of a new National Assembly through the legislative election held during the weekend and whereby the opposition has for the first time obtained a majority since the return of multiparty politics in 1993, some doubts have been established in the minds of some people regarding the Assembly’s standing orders.

One such doubt is in regard to the election of the new Speaker, where many people have been asking how it will be done.

According to Article 83 (2) of the Constitution, the National Assembly shall not transact any business, other than the election of the Speaker, at any time when the office of Speaker is vacant. The Article (Paragraph 3) continues to state that a person holding the office of Speaker or Deputy Speaker shall vacate that office when the National Assembly first meets after the holding of a general election.

“The first meeting of a session of the Assembly shall, until the Speaker is elected, be presided over by the person who was the Speaker or, in his absence, the Deputy Speaker immediately before that meeting”, the Constitution says.

This means that the outgoing speaker Patrick Herminie will preside over the first session of the newly elected Assembly, until a new Speaker is elected from among the new members. Dr Herminie himself made the announcement on SBC radio and television on Monday evening.

After being elected, the new Speaker will then take over and proceed to elect the Deputy Speaker and the Leader of the Opposition. The Law further states that the person presiding at a meeting of the National Assembly (Speaker or Deputy Speaker) will not be able to vote on any question to be decided by the Assembly unless in the event of an equality of votes on any question, where he or she shall have a casting vote.

If the Speaker and Deputy Speaker can come from any of the two political parties represented in the Assembly – Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS) and Parti Lepep (PL) - the Leader of the Opposition has to forcibly come from the party opposed to the current government, in this case meaning LDS. The Constitution’s Article 84 (1) should clear the minds of those in doubt on this particular matter. Rumours have in fact been going around that as the opposition is now in majority, opposition in Parliament should come from the ruling party. This is totally untrue as Article 84 (1) states the following:

“A person is not eligible to be elected to the office of Leader of the Opposition if the person is a member of the political party which nominated the incumbent President for election”.

This is the case of the PL which nominated James Michel for the post of president in the presidential election held in December last year.

Compared to the election of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker in which all members can vote, only LDS members will be able to vote for the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly. This is because Article 84 (1) continues to say that only members of the National Assembly who are not members of the party which nominated the incumbent President may vote in the election.

After its composition, the National Assembly shall also appoint from among its members standing committees and other committees necessary for the efficient discharge of its functions. These include the Finance and Public Accounts Committee and the Standing Order Committee.

Now that the Assembly has been elected, the President shall by Proclamation published in the Official Gazette, summon the first meeting of the National Assembly. He can do so within a period of four months after the end of the last session of the previous Assembly.

Much has also been said about the power of the President to dissolve the National Assembly. The truth is that the President can do so only once during a term of mandate. If he chooses to do so twice within the same mandate, he also shall resign from the Office of the President.

Contrary to what many people believe, subject to the Standing Orders of the Assembly it is not obligatory that meetings of the National Assembly are broadcast on radio or television. They should however be open to the public.

It is also interesting to note that a member of the National Assembly benefits from Parliamentary immunity under Article 99 (2) of the Constitution:

“Where the National Assembly is in session an arrest shall not be effected against a member in a way which will interfere with the performance by the member of the functions of the member in the Assembly and, where proceedings are instituted against a member, the court or authority before which the proceeding are being conducted shall so conduct the proceedings as to allow the member to continue to perform the functions of the member in the Assembly. A process issued by a court shall not be served or executed within the precincts of the National Assembly, as defined by or under an Act”, the Article says.

In the situation of cohabitation where two different parties dominate the Executive and Legislative branches of government, it is necessary that they work together for the good of the nation, as indicated by Attorney General Rony Govinden. In a presidential system like ours however, working together resolves to mutual understanding, cooperation and collaboration.

In parliamentary or semi-presidential systems such as in France, Mauritius or India where the president is head of State and the prime minister head of government, when the President is from a different political party than the majority of the members of parliament, cohabitation means that the president names a prime minister that is acceptable to the majority party within parliament. The latter thus usually comes from the opposition. It then comes to the prime minister to name the government ministers.

Seychelles having a presidential system like the United States, we are far from this scenario.