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{
    "id": 995257,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/995257/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 48,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Instead, the Leader of the Majority Party called into question a voting procedure applied by the Senate in approving the mediated versions, which is a separate matter at this penultimate stage. As a matter of fact, I agree with the Members who opined that, unlike a Bill which is referred from one House to the other in a sequential manner, the process of approval or otherwise of a mediated version of a Bill by the two Houses is a parallel process. As such, the process does not have to start or end in any of the two Houses in a chronological manner. Actually, a mediated version of a Bill may be considered by the two Houses at the same time. Indeed, provided that the version of the Bill presented to both Houses is the same, the completeness of the approval process of a mediated version of a Bill converges at the stage of comparing the results of the parallel processes in the Houses, in the form of approval or rejection, in which case, unlike the case of a fresh Bill, the onus of verifying how each House voted lies in that House. Hon. Members, to the extent that Article 113(3) of the Constitution requires the Speaker of the National Assembly to refer the mediated version of a Bill that has been approved by both Houses to the President for assent, I appreciate the concern of the Leader of the Majority Party that the House may be enjoined in the unconstitutional passage of legislation. As Members are aware, the Constitution prescribes strict requirements on quorum and voting procedures for both Houses of Parliament. By allowing the two Houses to prescribe Standing Orders for the orderly conduct of parliamentary business, the Constitution expects each House to craft procedures that respect and accord with the thresholds of voting at any stage. In this regard, and pursuant to Standing Order 87(5), I am expected to accord the procedures of the Senate the same respect that I would expect the Speaker of the Senate to accord the procedures of this House. As such, communication under the hand of the Speaker of the Senate transmitting a Bill that has been passed or signifying that a mediated version of a Bill has been approved by the Senate constitutes a guarantee that the procedures of the Senate and the requirements of the Constitution have been observed. In the event this House approves the mediated versions of the two Bills, I will engage the Speaker of the Senate to endorse the Bills before I present them to the President for assent as required under Article 110(5) of the Constitution, thereby causing the Speaker of the Senate to authenticate the propriety of the Bills with regard to the decisions of the Senate. I believe this will allay the fears raised by the Leader of the Majority Party on the propriety of the procedures adopted by the Senate. This also settles the initial questions on whether the House ought to interrogate the procedure applied by the Senate in its approval of a mediated version of a Bill, whether the procedure applied by the Senate has any implication on the progression of that version of the Bill in the National Assembly, and what remedy would be available to the House in that case. As I turn to the last part of the question, I am also constrained to address the issue of whether the point raised by the Leader of the Majority Party affects a Bill passed by the Senate which is referred to this House for consideration. The question that arises is whether the voting procedure adopted by the Senate in the passage of a Bill is a material issue for discussion in light of Standing Order 87(5). The Constitution outlines strict voting thresholds with regard to the passage of Bills by the Senate. Specifically, Article 123 of the Constitution provides: (2) When the Senate is to vote on any matter other than a Bill, the Speaker shall rule on whether the matter affects or does not affect counties. (3) When the Senate votes on a matter that does not affect counties, each senator has one vote. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}