Cabinet Decides
to Put Off Date: No New Date Announced: All Parties' Conference
called by Opposition
Inaugural National
Assembly Session Postponed
Special SAT Report
ISLAMABAD:
The Musharraf Government on Wednesday, Nov 6, postponed the inaugural
session of the newly elected National Assembly following a demand
made by the King's Party that it needed more time to cobble together
a majority.
This
was for the first time that even before the members of the House
had taken oath and any party or group had demonstrated its majority,
that the voice of a single party was considered weighty enough
to delay the entire process of power transfer.
The
decision raised serious questions about Musharraf's real intentions
to hand over power to the elected representatives, unless he can
ensure that his own men and groups will take over the major positions
to provide his own safety and continuity.
The
PPP has already issued a statement complaining that midnight knocks
were being made by intelligence agencies and army officials to
force their elected MNAs to change their loyalties and support
the pro-Musharraf coalition. The Party condemned these action.
The
Opposition Alliance ARD Chief Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan immediately
summoned an All Parties Conference (APC) to consider the repercussions
of the delay in holding the session and transfer of power.
He
reminded newsmen that the country had once been broken in 1971
when a military dictator had done a similar thing and postponed
the convening of the Assembly which resulted in a mass revolt
against the government in Islamabad.
The decision to put off the polls was taken at a cabinet meeting
chaired by President Musharraf but elected representatives of the
people were already challenging the moral, political and constitutional
authority of these un-elected cabinet ministers to even discuss
these matters, let alone take such historic decisions which could
harm the country.
The
first indication that the session maybe postponed was given by
the Chief Election Commissioner when he refused to preside over
the inaugural session on November 8.
Yet
the Government was not sincere in calling the session as even
before the CEC declined, the NA secretariat had not been officially
conveyed any date so that they could complete the formalities,
get the security and invitation cards printed and be ready to
the session.
A
meaningless debate then began in the officially controlled PTV
as to who should preside over the session. But in parliamentary
democracies round the world, the tradition for the inaugural session
is well defined.
In
the British House of Commons, the mother of all Parliaments, one
member is given the title of “The Father of the House”
and he chairs the first session until the new Speaker is elected.
If that criteria is applied, the longest serving MNA,
or the eldest parliamentarian could be asked to preside on Nov
8.
In
UK, the Father is the member “who has the longest unbroken
service in the Commons,” according to the House of Commons
Fact Sheet. Currently the Father of the House is Tam Dalyell,
who was first elected in June 1962 and has served continuously
since that date.
The
term ‘Father of the House’ is not defined in House
of Commons Standing Orders, although the method of selection is
used in Standing Order which determines who presides over the
House at the Election of a Speaker at the beginning of a Parliament
or if the previous Speaker has ceased to be a Member of the House:
(1)
Whenever it is necessary to proceed forthwith to the choice of
a new Speaker in
consequence of the Speaker having ceased for any reason to be
a Member of this House, the
chair shall be taken by that Member, present in the House and
not being a Minister of the
Crown, who has served for the longest period continuously as a
Member of this House.
This
is the sole duty of the Father of the House under House of Commons
Standing Orders although there are unofficial duties that he may
be called upon to perform. Occasionally the Father has been a
Minister, who therefore would be excluded from presiding at the
Election of a Speaker under the provisions of Standing Order.
If
two or more Members enter the House at the same Election, each
with unbroken service, their seniority is determined by the time
they took the Oath.
On
certain occasions the Father of the House may also be called upon
to:
- Move or speak in motions of a ceremonial nature in the House.
- Debates where historical precedents are required as evidence.
- Debates where an historical perspective may be required.
- If the House agrees a Resolution to present a congratulatory
address, he may well be made part of the group appointed to ‘wait
upon’ the person concerned.
- Preside over the election of a new Speaker
In
the Indian Parliament, Lok Sabha, the session before the election
of the Speaker is presided over by Speaker Pro-Tempore,
who is normally the oldest member of the House.
Every
session of the US Senate begins with the eldest member presiding,
as the Chairman of the Senate is the US Vice President, who is
normally not available. Then members rotate in presiding over
the Senate proceedings. In the case of a tie in voting, the Vice
President presides and casts his vote.
In
the US House of Representatives, even a non-member can be the
speaker. At the beginning of a new Congress, its first order of
business is to elect a Speaker. Because the House dissolves at
the end of a Congress and must start anew at the beginning of
each new Congress, the clerk of the House presides over the House
under general parliamentary law until a Speaker is elected.
For
its first 50 years, the House elected the Speaker by ballot. In
1839, this method was changed to election by vive voce meaning
that each Member names aloud whom he or she favors for Speaker.
Tellers then record the result. In modern practice, each party
places the name of a single Member in nomination for the position,
but otherwise virtually the same vive voce method is used to elect
the Speaker. Because the election of the Speaker typically takes
place before the House adopts its rules of procedure, the election
process is defined by precedent and practice rather than by any
formal rule.
To
be elected Speaker a candidate must receive an absolute majority
of the votes cast, which may be less than a majority of the full
membership of the House because of vacancies, absentees, or Members
voting "present." Although the major parties nominate
candidates for the position of Speaker, there is no limitation
on whom Members may vote for. In fact, there is no requirement
that the Speaker be a Member of the House. None of the other officers
of the House is a Member.
If
no candidate receives the requisite majority, the roll call is
repeated until a Speaker is elected. Again, Members may continue
to vote for any individual, and no restrictions, such as eliminating
minority candidates or prohibiting new candidates from being named,
are imposed.
For example, at the beginning of the 34th Congress in 1855, 133
ballots over a period of two months were necessary to elect Nathaniel
Banks of Massachusetts as Speaker.
The
last occasion on which multiple ballots were required to elect
a Speaker was in 1923. At the beginning of the 68th Congress,
the nominees from both major parties initially failed to receive
a majority of the votes because of votes cast for other candidates
by Members from the Progressive Party and from the "progressive
wing" of the Republican Party. After the Republican leadership
agreed to accept a number of procedural reforms, the Progressives
agreed to vote for the Republican candidate on the ninth ballot,
making Frederick Gillett of Massachusetts the Speaker.7
If
a Speaker dies or resigns during a Congress, the House immediately
elects a new Speaker. Although it was an earlier practice of the
House to elect a new Speaker under these conditions by adopting
a resolution to that effect, the modern practice is to use the
same practice as employed at the beginning of Congress. The most
recent example of this occurred during 101st Congress when Thomas
Foley of Washington was elected Speaker following the resignation
of Jim Wright of Texas.8
In
the 19th century, longevity of House service was not as important
a criterion in selecting the Speaker as it is today. Sam Rayburn
of Texas served longer as Speaker than any other Member: a tenure
of 17 years (interrupted twice by Republican majorities). Thomas
P. "Tip" O'Neill Jr. of Massachusetts holds the record
for the longest continuous service as Speaker: 10 years. The record
for the shortest tenure belongs to Theodore M. Pomeroy of New
York who served for one day.
