Speaker. 24. (1) When the Legislative Assembly first meets after any general election and before it proceeds to the despatch of any other business, it shall elect a person to be Speaker, and, whenever the office of Speaker is vacant otherwise than by reason of a dissolution of the Legislative Assembly, shall not transact any business other than the election of a person to fill that office.
- (2) The Speaker may be elected, in such manner as the Legislative Assembly may from time to time decide, either from among the Members of the Legislative Assembly who are neither Ministers nor Parliamentary Secretaries or from among persons who are not Members of the Legislative Assembly :
Provided that a person who is not a Member of the Legislative Assembly shall not be elected as Speaker if, under any of the provisions of this Constitution, he is not qualified for election as a Member of the Legislative Assembly.
- (3) Upon the Speaker being elected and before he enters upon the duties of his office, he shall (unless he has already done so in accordance with the provisions of Article 45 of this Constitution) take and subscribe before the Legislative Assembly the Oath of Allegiance in the form set out in the First Schedule to this Constitution.
- (4) The Speaker may at any time resign his office by writing under his hand addressed to the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, and shall vacate his office—
- (a) when the Legislative Assembly first meets after a general election; or
- (b) in the case of a Speaker elected from among the Members of the Legislative Assembly, if he ceases to be a Member of the Legislative Assembly otherwise than by reason of a dissolution thereof or if he is appointed to be a Minister or a Parliamentary Secretary; or
- (c) in the case of a Speaker elected from among persons who are not Members of the Legislative Assembly, if any circumstance arises that, if he had been elected to a seat in the Legislative Assembly, would cause him to vacate his seat by virtue of paragraph (a) or paragraph (d) of clause (2) of Article 30 of this Constitution.
Renumeration of Speaker. 25. The Speaker shall be paid such salary as the Legislative Assembly may from time to time determine, and that salary, which is hereby speaker charged on the Consolidated Fund, shall not be diminished during his continuance in office.
Deputy Speaker.
26. (1) When the Legislative Assembly first meets after any general election, it shall, as soon as practicable, elect a Member thereof, not being a Minister or a Parliamentary Secretary to be Deputy Speaker; and whenever the office of Deputy Speaker becomes vacant otherwise than by reason of a dissolution of the Legislative Assembly, the Legislative Assembly shall, as soon as convenient, elect another such Member thereof to that office.