ON SPEAKER'S ELECTION :
NANDHIVARMAN'S APPEAL TO LT.GOVERNOR
His
Excellency The Lt.Governor of Puducherry
Subject
: Division is best way to ascertain the wishes of legislators over the choice
of Speaker regarding
The
Speaker’s election is scheduled tomorrow. The present Chief Minister with 14
members in his party including one independent supporting has plans to put up a
candidate for Speaker’s post. The combined opposition has 14 votes the ruling
combine will have 14 votes if ONE legislator is chosen as Speaker. The ruling
combine is banking upon cross voting in case of secret ballot and you should
not be a party to endorse horse trading subverting democracy, a process which
began with one man without majority occupying the Chief Minister’s chair. In
case of Speaker getting elected 14 in ruling side and 14 in opposition side
will remain. Though opposition is divided suppose on fuel hike or any common
issue of people then on each occasion the Speaker had to exercise his casting
vote. Never in India in any legislature such precedent exists.
The
expectation of the ruling combine is there will be secret ballot and for those
it had cast its net through corrupt practices will secretly vote and bail the
tottering Government in its first trial of strength. Such subversion of
democracy and very first trial of strength should not be decided by corrupt
ways and means. Hence the people have the right to know how their legislators
behaved in the first trial of strength. Hence we urge you to ORDER the DIVISION
as best WAY to decide in Speaker’s Election.
In
parliamentary procedure, a division of the assembly (also division of the house
or simply division) is a voting method in which the members of the assembly
take a rising vote (stand up) or go to different parts of the chamber,
literally dividing into groups indicating a vote in favour of or in opposition
to a motion on the floor. A division of the assembly is often undertaken upon a
motion, It can
be contrasted with voice voting and electronic voting.
This
was the method used to decide motions in the Roman Senate (and was occasionally
used in democratic Athens).
In
the Australian House of Representatives divisions follow a form similar
to that of the United Kingdom, but the requirements are generally more
stringent. For instance, a Member in the Chamber when the tellers are appointed
must vote, while a Member not then present may not. Furthermore, members must
vote in accordance to their voice votes. The voice vote is held as in the
British House of Commons. If a Member objects, then the division bells are rung
throughout Parliament House. When not less than four minutes have elapsed since
the question was first put, the Speaker orders that the doors to the Chamber be
locked, and directs that the Ayes proceed to the right side of the Chamber, and
that the Noes proceed to the left. Members then take seats on the appropriate
side of the Chamber, rather than entering a lobby, and then the Speaker
appoints tellers for each side, unless fewer than five Members are seated on
one side, in which case the Speaker calls off the division and declares the
result for the side with the greater number of Members. If the division is
still on, the tellers count and record the names of the Members. The Speaker
announces the result, but does not himself vote unless there is an equality of
votes.
In
the Australian Senate, a procedure similar to that of the House of
Representatives is followed. The voice vote is taken, and, if two Senators
object, a division is held. Senators take seats in the right or left of the
Chamber as in the House, and the President of the Senate appoints one teller
for each side to record the votes. The President may vote by stating to the
Senate the side on which he intends to vote. If the result of the division is
an equality of votes, then the motion is in all cases disagreed to.
The
procedure used in the House of Commons of Canada is similar to that in the British
House of Commons, with a few differences. The Speaker reads the question aloud,
and then asks, "Is it the pleasure of the house to adopt the motion?"
If anyone dissents, the Speaker then states "all those in favour of the
motion will please say yea." After the cries of 'yea', the Speaker says
"all those opposed will please say nay," and all members opposed to
the question cry out 'nay' all at once. The Speaker then announces his opinion
of the outcome of the vote. If five or more MPs challenge the Speaker's
opinion, a formal division follows.
A formal division is invoked by the Speaker asking
to "call in the members." Bells are rung throughout the Parliament
Buildings for either 15 or 30 minutes to allow all present MPs time to enter
the chamber and take their seats. The division begins with the whips from both
the government and the official opposition bowing to the Speaker and each other
before returning to their seats. There are no division lobbies in the House of
Commons, so each member votes by simply standing up from his or her seat.
"Yea" votes are recorded first, followed by the "Nay"
votes, on the Speaker's order. Finally, the clerk of the house reads the result
of the vote aloud to the Speaker.
In the German Bundestag, when it is unclear
what the majority wants, the president can call for the so-called Hammelsprung
(literally, sheep herd). In this voting procedure, the MPs leave the plenary
hall and re-enter through one of three doors designated for "yes",
"no", or "abstention".
According to the Duden dictionary, the expression
refers to the MPs grouping themselves like sheep behind their respective
bellwether(s) before re-entering the chamber.[1] The procedure was introduced
in 1874 by a Reichstag vice president. In 1894 the architect of the new
Reichstag building made a reference to the Hammelsprung: above the door for
"yes", he depicted Ulysses and his friends escaping from Polyphemus.
Republic
of Ireland In Dáil
Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the procedure for divisions is
specified by standing orders 68–75.[2] The Ceann Comhairle (chair) puts the
question and TDs (deputies) present say the Irish word Tá or Níl respectively
if they agree or disagree.[3] The Ceann Comhairle then gives an opinion on the
voice vote; a TD may demand a division by calling Vótáil ("vote").[4]
If fewer than ten TDs call for a division, the Ceann Comhairle asks them to
rise in their places; their names are recorded in the journal but the original
decision stands. Otherwise the Ceann Comhairle calls Vótáil, which starts the
voting process. The division bell sounds around Leinster House and the
adjoining Oireachtas buildings, calling TDs to the chamber to vote. The bells
ring for six minutes[citation needed] and the doors to the chamber are locked
after a further four minutes.The Ceann Comhairle then appoints two tellers for
each side and deputies present are given one minute to vote. Voting is usually
electronic, with deputies pressing either the Tá or Níl button on their desks.
After the voting time has concluded a Division Paper recording the result and
each TD's vote is signed by the four tellers and given to the Ceann Comhairle,
who declares the result. Electronic voting was introduced in 2002.[5] The
traditional practice of voting by physically entering division lobbies is
retained for some symbolically important votes: motion of no confidence,
election of the Ceann Comhairle, and nomination of Taoiseach and cabinet ministers.
A group of at least 20 TDs may demand a non-electronic repeat of an electronic
vote, a tactic which Opposition parties sometimes use to increase media
coverage of major votes. Notably, in 1969 when Jack Lynch sought the nomination
of the Dáil to be appointed Taoiseach by the President, after the division had
been called and the doors locked, the bells continued to ring and several
deputies Fianna Fáil deputies subsequently entered the chamber through an
unlocked door. After other deputies objected, The Ceann Comhairle called the
division again. Lynch won the nomination 74 votes to 66.[6] In Seanad Éireann,
the upper house, a similar procedure is laid out by standing orders 56–63.[7]
The relayed sound of the bell for Seanad divisions differs from that of the
Dáil bell.
United
Kingdom In the
House of Commons, the Speaker says "The Question is that…", then
states the question. Next, he says, "As many as are of that opinion say
Aye." Then, following shouts of "Aye", he says, "of the
contrary, No," and similar shouts of "No" may follow. If one
side clearly has more support, the Speaker then announces his opinion as to the
winner, stating, for example, "I think the Ayes have it". Otherwise,
the Speaker declares a division.Any member may object to the Speaker's determination.
If the Speaker feels that the division is unnecessary, he may first ask those
who support his determination of the voice vote to rise, and then ask those who
oppose the opinion to rise. Then, the Speaker may either declare that his
ruling on the voice vote stands, or proceed to a division.If a division is to
be taken, the Speaker first states, "Division! Clear the Lobbies!"
The Division Bell then sounds across the Parliamentary Estate as well as
several buildings in the vicinity, such as restaurants and pubs, and Members'
Lobby in front of the Commons' Chamber is cleared of strangers, primarily
journalists who have access to the Lobby. Division bells notify any members not
currently in the chamber that a vote is about to start. A recent development
has been the use of pagers and mobile phones by party whips, to summon members
from further afield.One minute into the division the Speaker puts the question
to the House again. It is often the Whips who answer the question this time
after which the Speaker announces the Tellers, two (one Government MP, one
Opposition MP) for the Ayes and two for the Noes. Tellers are usually whips,
but on occasions can be rebel MPs, or even frontbench spokesmen (in the case of
the Liberal Democrats).MPs have to walk through the two Division Lobbies on
either side of the House and give their name to the Division Clerks at the end
of the respective Lobbies to vote. They are then counted by the Tellers as they
leave the Lobby. The Whips keep check on which MPs enter which Lobby and try
and persuade them to enter the Lobby that the Party would like them to enter.
Whips have historically been brutal to Backbenchers
to secure their vote. There have been cases where Members of Parliament were
wheeled from far afield to vote for the government of crucial vote. Former MP
Joe Ashton remembered a case from the dying days of James Callaghan's
government: I remember the famous case of Leslie Spriggs, the then Member for
St. Helens. We had a tied vote and he was brought to the House in an ambulance
having suffered a severe heart attack. The two Whips went out to look in the
ambulance and there was Leslie Spriggs laid there as though he was dead. I
believe that John Stradling Thomas said to Joe Harper, "How do we know
that he is alive?" So he leaned forward, turned the knob on the heart
machine, the green light went around, and he said, "There, you've lost -
it's 311." That is an absolutely true story. It is the sort of nonsense
that used to happen. No one believes it, but it is true.
Originally, there was but one lobby. In A Manual of
Parliamentary Practice, Thomas Jefferson writes: The one party goes forth, and
the other remains in the House. This has made it important which go forth, and
which remain; because the latter gain all the indolent, the indifferent and
inattentive. Their general rule therefore is, that those who give their votes
for the preservation of the orders of the House, shall stay in, and those who
are for introducing any new matter or alteration, or proceeding contrary to the
established course, are to go out.After the fire of 1834, the House of Commons
Chamber was rebuilt. At that time, a second lobby was added.Eight minutes after
the question has been put for the first time, the Speaker declares, "Lock
the Doors." The lobby entrances are locked, and only those within the
Lobbies may continue to vote.After all members have voted in the lobbies, the
vote totals are written on a card and the numbers are read out to the House by
the Tellers. The Speaker then announces these numbers a second time, announcing
the final result by saying 'The Ayes/Noes have it, the Ayes/Noes have it'. The
Speaker himself does not vote, except in the case of a tie and then only
strictly in accordance to precedent. This means that the Speaker will let vote
in accordance with these principles:
Legislation remains unchanged unless there is a
majority in favour of amendment,
Legislation is allowed to proceed to the next stage
unless there is a majority in favour of rejection, and All other motions are rejected unless there is a
majority in favour of passage.
Members may signify, but not record, an abstention
by remaining in their seats during the division.
It is stipulated that all Members of Parliament are
required to stay in or around the premises of the House of Commons until the
main business of the day has ended, however long that may be. In the unlikely
event that fewer than forty members voted in the division, the division is
ignored, the question at hand is postponed until the next sitting, and the
House proceeds to the next business.
The nature of divisions in the House
of Commons is one which traditionally could go on well into the night,
sometimes past midnight. However, in 2000 the House introduced, on an
experimental basis, the procedure of "Deferred Divisions."
Essentially, some divisions are delayed until the next Wednesday. The procedure
is used for very few matters; most divisions still occur normally.
There have been suggestions that electronic voting
may be easier and quicker to do than physically going through a division lobby.
However, MPs have often found that a division is the best way to interact
for senior members of the government. And it can be considered a way to sort
out problems for the Member's constituents.
In
the United States Congress, divisions are used, but not in the same manner as
in the British Parliament. In Congress, lobbies are not used, and the division
is not a final determination of the question. The vote is first taken by voice
vote, as is the case in Parliament. Then, any member may demand a division. If
a division is demanded, then the Speaker of the House of Representatives or the
President of the Senate (or President pro tempore) asks those voting Yea to
rise and remain standing until counted, and then asks those voting Nay to do
the same. Thereafter, a recorded vote may, under the provisions of the US
Constitution, be forced upon the demand of one-fifth of the members present. In
the Senate, the recorded vote is accomplished by the Clerk's call of the Roll.
In the House, a Roll Call may be used, as may electronic voting devices.
In the Lok Sabha, the lower House of
the Indian Parliament, both Presiding Officers—the Speaker and the Deputy
Speaker- are elected from among its members by a simple majority of members
present and voting in the House. As such, no specific qualifications are
prescribed for being elected the Speaker. The Constitution only requires that
Speaker should be a member of the House. But an understanding of the
Constitution and the laws of the country and the rules of procedure and
conventions of Parliament is considered a major asset for the holder of the
office of the Speaker. The election of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha is an
important event in the life of the House. One of the first acts of a newly
constituted House is to elect the Speaker. Usually, a member belonging to the
ruling party is elected the Speaker.
A
healthy convention, however, has evolved over the years whereby the ruling
party nominates its candidate after informal consultations with the Leaders of
other Parties and Groups in the House. This convention ensures that once
elected, the Speaker enjoys the respect of all sections of the House. IN
PUDUCHERRY THIS CONVENTION HAD NOT BEEN OBSERVED.
There are also instances when
members not belonging to the ruling party or coalition were elected to the
office of the Speaker. Once a decision on the candidate is taken, her
name is normally proposed by the Prime Minister or the Minister of Parliamentary
Affairs. If more than one notice is received, these are entered in the order of
receipt. The Speaker pro term presides over the sitting in which the Speaker is
elected, if it is a newly constituted House. If the election falls later in the
life of a Lok Sabha the Deputy Speaker presides. The motions which are moved
and duly seconded are put one by one in the order in which they are moved, and
decided, if necessary, by division. If any motion is carried, the person
presiding shall, without putting the latter motions, declare that the member
proposed in the motion which has been carried has been chosen as the Speaker of
the House. After the results are announced, the Speaker-elect is conducted to
the Chair by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. She is then
felicitated by Leaders of all Political Parties and Groups in the House to
which she replies in a thanks-giving speech. And from then the new Speaker
takes over.
In 2011 in Andhra Pradesh
Assembly Speaker chose from secret
ballot to division of votes as best way and transparent way to find our the
majority with public knowing where stood where and for whom.
IN
VIEW OF GLOBAL PRACTICE IN ALL DEMOCRACIES AND IN VIEW OF PRECEDENTS IN INDIA
BOTH IN PARLIAMENT AND ASSEMBLY, THE LT.GOVERNOR AS CUSTODIAN OF DEMOCRACY AND
CONSTITUTION AND IN VIEW OF PEOPLE’s RIGHT TO KNOW HOW AND TO WHOM THERE
REPRESENTATIVES IN A LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY WHERE BOTH RULING SIDE AND OPPOSITE
SIDE HAVE EQUAL NUMBERS, MUST ORDER FOR DIVISION OF VOTES TO DECIDE SPEAKER’s SELECTION
With Regards
Yours sincerely
N.Nandhivarman
General Secretary Dravida Peravai
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