By Mohsin Iqbal
The Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan terms it mandatory to convene the session of the National Assembly within 21 days, following the day on which a general election is held, to elect Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Leader of the House.
According to Article 91 (2) of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, “The National Assembly shall meet on the twenty-first day following the day on which a general election to the Assembly is held, unless sooner summoned by the President”.
It is to mention that General elections in Pakistan was held on February 8, 2024 and it is mandatory to summon the Session of National Assembly before February 29, 2024. It would be the 16th National Assembly which would have a total of 336 members, including 60 seats reserved for women and 10 for non-Muslims.
When the Assembly summoned, the Secretary shall cause a notification to be published in the Gazette stating the date, time and place of the meeting and shall also cause to be issued to each member a notice intimating these particulars: Provided that when a session is called at short notice or in an emergency within seventy-two hours, the date, time and place of session shall be published in the Gazette and also announced on the radio, television and through press and the members shall be informed by urgent mail instead of normal notices, according to the Rule 2 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of the Business in the National Assembly, 2007.
A person elected as member shall before taking his seat in the Assembly, make, before the Assembly, oath in the form set out in the Third Schedule to the Constitution. There shall be a Roll of members which shall be signed by every member after making the oath. The members shall sit in such order as the Speaker may determine: Provided that, before the election of a Speaker, the Secretary shall determine the order.
At the first meeting of the Assembly, following a general election, after the members have made oath and before the transaction of any other business, the Assembly shall proceed to elect a Speaker under clause (1) of Article 53, by secret ballot in accordance with the Rule 9. The meeting of the Assembly shall be presided at by the outgoing Speaker or, in his absence, by a person nominated by the President for the purpose, hereinafter in this rule referred to as the
Chairperson. No person shall preside at the meeting for the election in which he himself is a candidate.
At any time before 12.00 noon on the day preceding the day on which the election is to be held, any member may propose another member for election as Speaker by delivering to the Secretary a nomination paper signed by him and accompanied by a statement by the member whose name is proposed that he is willing to serve as Speaker, if elected. A member who has been nominated may, in writing, withdraw his candidature at any time before the Assembly proceeds to elect a Speaker.
On the day of election, the Chairperson shall read out to the Assembly the names of the members who have been duly nominated and have not withdrawn their candidature, and also the names of their proposers, and, if there is only one such member, shall declare that member to have been elected. Where, after withdrawals, if any, there remain only two candidates for election, a ballot shall be held between them and the candidate who secures more votes than the other shall be declared to have been elected. If both the candidates secure an equal number of votes, a fresh ballot shall be held between them until one of them secures more votes than the other, and the candidate securing more votes shall be declared to have been elected.
Where, after withdrawals, if any, there remain more than two candidates for election, the candidate obtaining more votes than the aggregate of votes secured by the other candidates shall be declared to have been elected. If no candidate secures more votes than the aggregate votes secured by the other candidates, there shall be a fresh ballot at which the candidate who secured the lowest number of votes at the last ballot shall be excluded from the election, and the balloting shall, in like manner, proceed until one candidate secures more votes than the remaining candidate or, as the case may be, the remaining candidates in the aggregate, and such candidate shall be declared to have been elected.
Where, at any ballot, any three or more candidates secure an equal number of votes and one of them has to be excluded from election under sub-rule (7), the question as to which one of such candidates is to be excluded shall be determined by drawing of lots. The member elected as Speaker shall, before entering upon office, make before the Assembly oath in the form set out in the Third Schedule to the Constitution.
Immediately after the election of Speaker, the Assembly shall proceed to elect a Deputy Speaker and the procedure prescribed in rule 9 for the election of Speaker shall apply to the election of Deputy Speaker as if references therein to Speaker were references to the Deputy Speaker and references to Chairperson were references to the Speaker. A person elected as the Deputy Speaker shall, before entering upon office, make before the Assembly oath in the form set out in the Third Schedule to the Constitution.
After the election of Speaker and the Deputy Speaker, the National Assembly shall, to the exclusion of any other business, proceed to elect without debate on of its Muslim members to be the Prime Minister who will be called upon by the President to assume the office of Prime Minister and he/she shall, before entering upon the office, make before the President oath.
According to the Rule 32, after the election of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker following a general election, the Assembly shall, to the exclusion of any other business, proceed to elect without debate one of its Muslim members to be the Prime Minister.
Any member may propose or second the name of any Muslim member for election as Prime Minister, hereinafter referred to as the candidate. Every proposal shall be made on a separate nomination paper in the form set out in the First Schedule and shall be signed by the proposer and seconder and also by the candidate stating that he has consented to the nomination. A candidate may be nominated by more than one nomination paper, but no member shall subscribe to more than one nomination paper, either as proposer or as seconder. Every nomination paper shall be delivered by the candidate or his proposer or seconder to the Secretary by 2.00 P.M. on the day preceding the day on which the election of Prime Minister is to be held.
The Speaker shall, in the presence of the candidates or their proposers or seconders who may wish to be present, scrutinize the nomination paper and may reject a nomination paper if he is satisfied that (a) the candidate is not a member of the Assembly; (b) any provision of rule 32 has not been complied with; or (c) the signature of the proposer, the seconder or the candidate is not genuine. Provided that (a) the rejection of a nomination paper shall not invalidate the nomination in respect of a candidate by any other valid nomination paper; and (b) the Speaker shall not reject a nomination paper on the ground of any defect, which is not of substantial nature and may allow
any such defect to be remedied forthwith.
The Speaker shall endorse on each nomination paper his decision accepting or rejecting it and shall, in case of rejection, record briefly the reasons therefor. The decision of the Speaker accepting or rejecting a nomination paper shall be final. A candidate may withdraw his candidature at any time before the election takes place.
Before commencement of the poll, the Speaker shall read out to the Assembly the names of the validly nominated candidates who have not withdrawn, hereinafter referred to as the contesting candidates, in the order in which their nomination papers were received and proceed to hold the poll in accordance with the procedure set out in the Second Schedule. If there is only one contesting candidate and he secures the votes of the majority of the total membership of the Assembly, the Speaker shall declare him to have been elected.
If there is only one contesting candidate and he fails to secure the votes of the majority of the total membership of the Assembly, all proceedings shall commence afresh. If there are two or more contesting candidates and if no contesting candidate secures such majority in the first poll, a second poll shall be held between the candidates who secure the two highest numbers of votes in the first poll and the candidate who secures a majority of votes of the members present and voting shall be declared to have been elected as Prime Minister: Provided that, if the number of votes secured by two or more candidates securing the highest number of votes is equal, further poll shall be held between them until one of them secures a majority of the votes of the members present and voting.
