(1)The House of Representatives shall, within fifteen days of commencement of first meeting, elect a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker from among its members.
(2)While electing Speaker and Deputy Speaker as per clause (1), either Speaker or Deputy Speaker shall be a woman and belong to different parties.
Provided that, no more than one party is elected to the House of Representatives or does not seek to file its candidacy even when elected, nothing in this article shall bar from having Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the same party.
(3)If the office of the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker falls vacant, the House of Representatives shall fill the vacancy through election from among its members.
(4)The Deputy Speaker shall, in the absence of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, chair the meeting of House of Representatives.
(5)In case the election of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker has not taken place, or both positions remain vacant, the senior-most member of the House of Representatives shall preside the meeting of the House of Representatives.
(6)The office of the Speaker or the Deputy Speaker shall be vacant in the following circumstances:
- (a)
if s/he ceases to be a member of the House of Representatives: Provided that, after the dissolution of the House of Representatives, the Speaker and Deputy Speaker shall continue in office until the date of the filing of nominations for election to the House of Representatives
- (b)
if s/he submits a written resignation;
- (c)
if a resolution is passed by a majority of two-thirds of the total number of members in the House of Representatives to the effect that his/ her conduct is not compatible with his/her position.
(7)The Deputy Speaker shall preside over a meeting at which deliberations are to be held on a resolution that the conduct of the Speaker of the House of Representatives is not compatible with his/her position. The Speaker shall be entitled to take part and vote in the deliberations on such resolution.