The Speaker of the National Assembly is the presiding officer in the National Assembly of Mauritius. The speaker is elected by the members of the National Assembly and does not have to be a member of the National Assembly.[1]
The position has existed since the Legislative Council, as it was known at the time in the 1950s, decided to choose a separate presiding officer for the Council (the Colonial Governor served as the presiding officer before). Sir Robert Stanley was chosen as the first speaker of the Legislative Council in 1957. Stanley was followed by Sir Harilal Vaghjee, who became the first Mauritian to hold the speakership in 1960. Vaghjee remains the longest-serving holder of the office.
Since the opening of the 8th National Assembly on 29 November 2024, Shirin Aumeeruddy-Cziffra is the incumbent speaker of the National Assembly. She is the second female speaker and the first female Muslim woman to serve within the role. Aumeeruddy-Cziffra was elected unanimously by the house.
Election and term
Following a general election to elect the members of the National Assembly, the first business to be conducted after the swearing-in of members is the election of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker. Traditionally, candidates chosen to the speakership are agreed beforehand between the government and the opposition and thus, the candidate is elected unanimously. However, in the instance that more than one candidate is proposed and seconded, the election proceeds to secret ballot.[2]
Under section 32 of the constitution, the Speaker may or may not be a member of the house itself.[3] Before the amendment of the section in 1996, it was a requirement that the person chosen as a candidate for the position be a member of the house itself.
Role
The Speaker is the main representative of the House and the main spokesperson to the Preisdent, who also composes the other part of the parliament. The authority of the parliament is symbolised by the holder of the speakership. They are expected to be impartial and above party politics as the Speaker swears their loyalty to the dignity of parliament.[2]
As typical with other Westminster model of governance, the Speaker ensures that the rules and standing orders of the Assembly are followed and complied. They have the power to interpret and enforce such rulings in accordance to precedence, typically following Erskine May's Parliamentary Practice. Any ruling made by the Speaker may not be challenged, with exception to a substantive motion, and criticism made towards his actions outside of parliament may count as contempt to the Assembly.[2]
During debates, the Speaker is responsible for setting the choice of speakers and admissability of questions towards ministers when Question Time arises. They must ensure that government backbenchers and opposition members are allocated evenly in their questions. In addition, the Speaker is most importantly responsible for ensuring order and discipline during debates. They may call any member into order and if a member persists on being unruly, the Speaker may ask the member to withdraw from the chamber for the remainder of the day's sitting. If a member continues to flout the authority of the chair or willfully obstructs the business of the house, the Speaker has the power to name any member.[2]
Under section 53 of the constitution, the Speaker, Deputy Speaker or any person presiding over the house, provided that they are members of the Aseembly itself, are not prevented from having a vote in any question posed to the Assembly.[3] Thus, a speaker elected outside the membership of the assembly is only allowed to have a vote when a tie exists during a question posed to the house.
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