Legislative Council

LC Paper No. CB(3) 97/98-99

Ref: CB(3)/P/2(II)



Purpose

This paper invites the House Committee to agree on the procedure for electing a Member to preside at a Council meeting, in the absence of the President of the Legislative Council and the President's Deputy from that meeting.

Background

2. Rule 3(2)(b) of the Rules of Procedure provides that, in the absence of the President and the President's deputy from a Council meeting, or when in their opinion they are unable to act, the Members present shall, in accordance with the procedure determined by the House Committee, elect among themselves a Member to preside at that meeting.

The proposed procedure

3. Attached in the Appendix is the proposed procedure for electing the presiding Member. It is modelled on the procedure for electing the President of the Legislative Council.

Advice sought

4. Members are invited to agree on the election procedure.



Legislative Council Secretariat
17 July 1998

Appendix

When both the President of the Legislative Council and the President's Deputy are unable to preside at a Council meeting, or part of a Council meeting, the procedure for the election of a Member to preside at the meeting shall be as follows.

2. When either the President or the President's Deputy knows in advance that both of them will not be able to preside at a certain meeting or at part of a meeting, the President or, in his/her absence, the President's Deputy will, at the meeting immediately preceeding the relevant meeting, call for nominations for the presiding Member. A valid nomination shall be made orally by a Member, seconded by at least one other Member who should not be the Member being nominated, and accepted by the Member being nominated.

3. If there is only one nomination for the presiding Member, the President or the President's Deputy shall announce this and declare the Member elected as the presiding Member for the relevant meeting or part of the meeting in question.

4. If there are two or more nominations, the President or the President's Deputy shall announce a vote by secret ballot and the Clerk shall arrange to distribute to each of the Members present a ballot paper which shall be in accordance with the form in the Annex.

5. A Member present who wishes to vote shall put down in legible form the name of the nominee of his choice on the ballot paper, and place the ballot paper into the ballot box.

6. After all the Members present who wish to vote have done so, the Clerk shall cause the ballot papers to be counted and report the result to the President or the President's Deputy, as the case may be. Any Member may request to check the result for confirmation.

7. The President or the President's Deputy shall announce the result and declare elected as the presiding Member for the relevant meeting or part of the meeting in question the nominee who receives the highest number of votes among all the nominees.

8. If two or more nominees receive the same highest number of valid votes, the President or the President's Deputy shall announce that lots will be drawn by him/her to decide which of the nominees should be the presiding Member.

9. The President or the President's Deputy shall then draw lots and, in accordance with the result of the drawing of the lots, forthwith declare that nominee elected as the presiding Member for the relevant meeting or part of the meeting in question.

10. Where the President, the President's Deputy, and the presiding Member if one has been elected in accordance with the above procedure, are absent from a meeting of the Council, the election of the presiding Member shall be conducted by the Clerk who shall follow the procedure mentioned above.

Annex