CHAPTER III – ELECTION OF SPEAKER AND DEPUTY SPEAKER AND NOMINATION OF PANEL OF PRESIDING MEMBERS.

8. Election of Speaker –(1) The election of Speaker shall be held on such date as the Governor may fix, and the Secretary shall send to every member a notice thereof:

Provided that the date so fixed shall, in the case of a vacancy occurring during the term of the Assembly, be within fifteen days from:

1. The date of the occurrence of the vacancy, if the Assembly is at that time sitting and
2. The date on which the Assembly first meets thereafter, if it is not so sitting.

(2) At any time before noon on the day preceding the date so fixed under sub-rule (I), any member may give notice of motion nominating another member for election by delivering to the Secretary a nomination paper signed by himself as proposer and by a third member as seconder and stating the name of the member nominated and accompanied by a statement by the member whose name is proposed that he is willing to serve as Speaker, if elected.

(3) (a) On the date fixed for election, in the case of a new Assembly, the member appointed by the Governor and in any other case, the Deputy Speaker or the member presiding, as the case may be, shall read out to the Assembly the names of the members who have been duly nominated together with those of there proposers and seconders. At any time before the election any candidate so nominated may withdraw his name from the election by informing Presiding officer orally or in writing about it. If after the withdrawals, if any, only one member remains nominated, he shall be declared elected, and it shall not be necessary to make a formal motion in that behalf.

(b) If more than one member remains nominated, the presiding member shall call the members in whose names the motion stand, one, by one, to move the motions, and the mover shall confine themselves to a mere statement to the effect.

(4) For the purpose of sub-rule (3) a member shall not be deemed to have been duly nominated if either he or his proposer or seconder has not , before the names are read out under that sub-rule, made the oath or affirmation as a member of the Assembly.

(5) The voting on each motion shall be by ballot. Where more than two candidates have been nominated and at the first ballot no candidate obtains more votes than the aggregate vote obtained by the other candidates the candidate who has obtained the smallest number of votes shall be excluded from the election and fresh ballot shall take place, the candidate obtaining the smallest number of votes at each ballot being excluded, until one candidate obtains more votes than the remaining candidate or than the aggregate votes of the remaining candidates, as the case may be.

(6) Where at any ballot two or more candidates obtain an equal number of votes, the candidate to be excluded from the election under sub-rule (5) shall be determined by drawing lots.

9. Election of Deputy Speaker – (1) The election of deputy Speaker shall be held on such date as the Speaker may fix and the Secretary shall send to every member notice of that date:

Provided that the date so fixed shall in the case of vacancy occurring during the term of an Assembly be within thirty days from-

1. The date of occurrence of the vacancy, if the Assembly is at that time sitting, and
2. The date on which Assembly first meets thereafter, if it is not so sitting.

(2) At any time before noon on the day preceding the date so fixed under sub-rule(1), any member may give notice of a motion nominating another member for election by delivering to the Secretary a nomination paper signed by himself as proposer and by a third member as seconder and stating the name of the member nominated and accompanied by a statement by the member whose name is proposed that he is willing to serve as Deputy Speaker, if elected.

(3)For the purposes of sub-rule (2) a member shall not be deemed to have been duly nominated if either he or his proposer or seconder has not, before the names are read out under that sub-rule, made the oath or affirmation as member of the Assembly.

(4)On the date so fixed for election the Speaker shall read out to the Assembly the names of the members who have been duly nominated together with those of there proposers and seconders. At any time before the election any candidate so nominated may withdraw his name from the election by informing the Presiding Officer orally or in writing about it, nominated he shall be declared elected and it shall not be If after the withdrawals, if any , only one member remains necessary to make if formal motion in that behalf. If more than one member remains nominated the Speaker shall call the members in whose names the motions stand, one by one to move the motions, and the movers shall confine themselves to a mere statement to that effect.

(5) In case of election, the procedure laid down in rule 8 (5) and (6) for the election of Speaker shall be followed.

10. Panel of Presiding Member – (1) At the commencement of every financial year the Speaker shall nominate from amongst the members of the Assembly a panel of not more than ten members, and any one of whom may preside over the Assembly in the absence of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker when so requested by the Speaker, or in his absence, by the Deputy speaker, or in the absence of the Deputy Speaker also by the presiding member.

(2) A Presiding Member nominated under sub-rule (1) shall hold office until a new panel of Presiding Member is nominated.

11. Election of Chairman in the absence of Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Panel of Presiding Members – If the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker are both absent and there is no member of panel of Presiding Member duly authorized to preside over the sitting of the Assembly, then, on quorum being present action shall be taken to elect a Chairman for the sitting in the following manner:

12. Powers of the Deputy Speaker and presiding member – The Deputy Speaker or any member competent to preside over a sitting of the Assembly under the Constitution or these Rules shall, when so presiding, have the same powers as the Speaker when so presiding and all reference to the Speaker in these Rules shall, in such a case, be deemed to be references to the person so presiding.

13. Delegation of Powers by Speaker – The Speaker may at any time by order in writing delegate to the Deputy Speaker and in the absence of The Deputy Speaker to any member of the panel of Presiding Members all or any of his powers under these rules and may likewise revoke any such delegation.