The 18th Speakers’ Conference, hosted by the National Assembly of Pakistan after a decade-long gap, concluded on Friday, 20 December 2024 on a high note as political leaders reaffirmed their commitment to fortifying democratic governance in Pakistan. The two-day event, which brought together key parliamentary figures, including Chairman Senate Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, Speaker of National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, and provincial legislative speakers, focused on addressing pressing constitutional and legislative issues.
1) The Speakers’ Conferences: History and Purpose
Conference of the Presiding Officers or Speakers of Legislative Bodies has evolved through established parliamentary practice. The institution of the Speakers' Conference can be traced back to the year 1921 when the first Conference of the Speakers of Central and Provincial Legislatures was held at Simla (Indo-Pak Sub-Continent), under the chairmanship of the then Speaker of the Central Legislative Assembly Mr. Frederick Whyte.
In pre-independence era, this forum emerged as the most powerful and well organised democratic institution. The task before the Speakers' Conference was to establish healthy parliamentary traditions and promote the environment of discussions to overcome the difficulties encountered in respective legislatures regarding parliamentary procedures and practices.
After the creation of Pakistan, the first Speakers’ Conference was held in Karachi in 1972 under the chairmanship of Mr. Fazal Elahi Chaudhry the then Speaker of the 3rd Constituent Assembly. From 1972 to 1976, the forum met quite regularly but again, there was a long pause until 1985. Thereafter, the Speakers' Conferences were held in 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1998, 2004, 2006 and 2010, 2014, and finally the 18th Conference in December 2024 respectively.
When it comes to the tradition of world speakers’ conference, the International Parliamentary Union, in close cooperation with the United Nations, started convening a world speaker conference in August 2000 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, just a few days prior to the Millennium Summit of Heads of State and Government. Afterward, it takes place every five years. The Sixth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament is going to take place at the Palais des Nations (UN Office in Geneva) from 29 to 31 July 2025 preceded by the 15th Summit of Women Speakers of Parliament.
These World Conferences aim to advance strong and effective multilateralism, with the UN at its core and where parliaments and MPs are called upon to play a key role: promoting accountability and democracy in international relations, carrying out parliamentary diplomacy in the service of peace and understanding, bringing the people's voice to the UN, and helping to translate international commitments into national realities.
2) The 18th Speakers’ Conference: Agenda and Commitments
In his opening remarks at the 18th Speakers’ Conference, Chairman Senate Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani highlighted the forum’s significance in promoting dialogue and collaboration among Pakistan’s democratic institutions. He stated that “this conference is a testament to our shared resolve to enhance the effectiveness, transparency, and inclusivity of our legislatures.” Mr. Gillani, in his concluding remarks, called for “collective action to uphold constitutional principles and modernise legislative practices.” He further opined that “the way forward requires a spirit of unity and cooperation. Our assemblies must work collectively to address challenges, from constitutional ambiguities to the critical need for inclusivity in decision-making.”
Here question arises who holds the constitutional mandate to translate the Conference’s recommendations into actionable reforms for promoting legislative oversight and transparency in parliamentary legislatures? Looking at the historical and institutional role of the institution of presiding officers, the comparative legislative studies theorists have agreed that it presiding officer, the custodian of the house, plays a key role in promoting legislative oversight, transparency, and inclusivity in the parliament through upholding the principle of impartiality combined with sufficient knowledge of legislative practices of the house and use of his or her constitutional authority.
3) The Institution of Presiding Officer: History and Role
The presiding officers of representative legislatures occupy a privileged place in parliaments that could not work without them. In most countries, they rank very high in the state hierarchy and are invested with important authority under national constitutions. All legislatures empower a presiding officer whose primary responsibility is to supervise and regulate the plenary (floor) debate. The exact title and duties of a ‘directing authority’ vary among legislatures, but research suggests that there are two general models. In the Westminster model, the speaker acts as a nonpartisan official who controls the debate. In the U.S. Congress model, the speaker not only controls debate but is the leader of the majority party.
No other office or position is more closely linked to the history of the parliament as a representative institution than that of the presiding officer
In the United Kingdom, where parliament is the basis for the Westminster model, the speaker's office has evolved but is not authorised by a constitution or a specific piece of legislation because the United Kingdom does not have a formal written constitution. Nonetheless, what in parliamentary democracies is demanded from a speaker is impartiality, fairness in conducting the legislative business of the house, and the extent to which he or she holds knowledge of the rules of business for promoting effective legislative oversight in the house. J.N. Turner, one of the refined parliamentarians of the twentieth century, explains the qualities of a professional presiding officer in the following words:
You know what we demand of you, Mr. Speaker. Perfection! We want fairness, independence, decisiveness, patience, common sense, good humour, upholding the traditions of the House, knowledge of the rules and an intuition for the changing mood and tone of the House as we move through our days.
John N. Turner, Leader of the Opposition of the House of Commons, Canada, (Debates, September 30, 1986, p. 9)
The incumbents of office perform several functions falling into three main categories. First, they preside over debate in parliament and are responsible for enforcing and interpreting all rules and practices and for the preservation of order and decorum in the proceedings of the house. Second, they are chief administrative officers of the parliament. Third, they are the representative or spokesperson for the parliament in its relations with authorities or persons outside parliament.
No other office or position is more closely linked to the history of the parliament as a representative institution than that of the presiding officer. The office dates back at least 600 years, almost to the very beginnings of Parliament itself. The first Speaker to be so designated was Sir Thomas Hungerford in 1377. His predecessor, Sir Peter de la Mare, was elected in 1376 and was the first Commons spokesperson known to have been selected by the House membership. Originally, the Speaker’s principal function was to act as the spokesperson of the House in its dealings with the House of Lords and the Crown. In an era when the influence and power of the King was great and that of the House still tentative and subordinate, the Speaker was as much an agent of royal interests (seen as “the King’s man”) as a servant of the House.
The year 1642 marked the end of the Crown’s influence over the Speaker, when Charles I, accompanied by an armed escort, crossed the Bar of the House, sat in the Speaker’s chair, and demanded the surrender of five parliamentary leaders on a charge of treason. Falling to his knees, Speaker William Lenthall replied with these now-famous words which have since defined the Speaker’s role in relation to the House and the Crown:
May it please Your Majesty, I have neither eyes to see, nor tongue to speak in this place, but as the House is pleased to direct me, whose servant I am here; and I humbly beg Your Majesty’s pardon that I cannot give any other answer than this to what Your Majesty is pleased to demand of me.
Philip Norton, Parliaments and Post-legislative Scrutiny, p, 54.
While Speaker Lenthall’s words heralded the end of the Crown’s influence over the Speakership, it was the beginning of the government’s authority over the Chair. The Speakership then became an appointment much coveted by members of the party in power and used to advance its policies. The House allowed Speakers, who often held government posts, to participate routinely in debate and to set the agenda of the sitting by selecting when and what bills should be considered.
However, with his advent to the Chair, Speaker Arthur Onslow (1728-61) loosened the ties to government and established the standards of independence and impartiality that have come to be associated with the office of Speaker. Believing that widespread corruption in government was destroying the dignity of Parliament, he became a strict proceduralist and impartial arbiter of the House’s proceedings.
By the mid-1800s and the tenure of Speaker Shaw-Lefevre (1839-57), the principle of Speakers abstaining from all political activity became established. Throughout the nineteenth century and into the twentieth, the House altered its rules to invest the Speaker with considerable authority to curtail obstruction and disorder, thereby firmly entrenching the tradition of a non-partisan Chair.
4) How Can a Presiding Officer Promote Transparency and Inclusivity?
The chief characteristics of the Westminster speaker are impartiality and authority. Although elected under a political party label and functioning as an elected Member of Parliament representing the interests of constituents, the speaker is expected to operate with complete impartiality. Most of the countries whose parliaments follow the Westminster model have historical links to the United Kingdom. The
Pakistani Parliament is a (in)direct descendent of the Westminster Parliament. The National Assembly, with some adaptions and adoptions, has many similarities with its U.K. counterpart. The Speaker of the Assembly is elected by an internal vote of all House members. Until recently, the speaker's position and nomenclature have evolved over time but what is not uncommon is its role as an impartial arbiter of debate, authority as a custodian of the house, and, a man of wisdom or of historical knowledge to promote transparency and inclusivity in the legislature. The speaker's impartiality, authority, and extent of wisdom can be protected in several ways:
First, the speaker must completely withdraw from active involvement in his or her political party. The speaker should avoid projecting self-interest and not be tempted to favour one side or the other in the hope of future reward or ministerial office.
In the era in which the undemocratic forces are in constant vie for undermining parliamentary supremacy; it is true that the parliament cannot expect to embody sovereignty on its own
Second, all speeches in the National Assembly are addressed to the speaker, and the speaker calls on members to speak. Beyond the maintenance of order and the speaker takes no part in debate, he is required to remain impartial at all times.
Third, the decisions made and rulings given by the speaker during the course of the speaker's tenure are significant and precedent-setting. The speaker establishes precedents on matters such as whether a member's speech is relevant to the subject under discussion, and whether amendments proposed to a draft law conform to the rules and are ‘in order.’ As future speakers will rely on these decisions, the speaker's impartiality is fiercely necessary because only if the speaker acts absolutely impartial and nonpartisan, the decision made on the rules will help promote parliamentary supremacy, transparency, and inclusivity in the times to come.
Fourth, the administrative responsibilities of the speaker are twofold. First the function of overseeing the management of tasks such as the physical upkeep of the buildings used by parliament and the production of an accurate record of parliamentary proceedings. Second, the speaker selects and supervises staff for the various procedural, administrative, and ceremonial functions that the speaker performs. In both cases, the speaker needs to show impartiality and encourage meritocracy, especially in inducting the staff who must be specialised in matters of administration, jurisprudence, and maintenance.
Fifth, equal to maintaining impartiality, the speaker also requires an in-depth knowledge of not only the roles of procedures and conduct of the business of his or her own legislature but in the words of Aristotle that of practical wisdom (phronēsis) and political wisdom (politikē) of history and politics of the country for making a good judgment about important legislative matters.
Sixth, it is equally necessary to uphold the privileges of the parliament and its members combined with the right to freedom of speech as embedded in the Constitution, to promote inclusivity by ensuring equal opportunity to all members irrespective of their party affiliations.
Seventh, the speaker requires comprehending and sustaining the trichotomy of power amongst the organs (parliament, executive and judiciary) of the state as embedded in the Constitution to not let forces or institutions to intervene within the institutional and constitutional jurisdiction of the parliament.
Eighth, the speaker needs to promote transparency by making legislative and non-legislative business (debates, house business and committees’ reports) accessible to public.
Finally, to strengthen the effective oversight of the government’s policies, the speaker should use his or her constitutional authority to ensure the presence of the concerned ministers to respond to the questions of the members on the matters of the public importance.
The presiding officers of parliament serve as custodians of parliamentary democracy. In the era in which the undemocratic forces are in constant vie for undermining parliamentary supremacy; it is true that the parliament cannot expect to embody sovereignty on its own. As Pakistan’s parliamentary democracy continues to evolve and grow, the role of the presiding officer has become indispensable in shaping the nation’s legislative agenda and upholding the values of democracy and democratic governance. Within the parliament, conceived as the natural setting for confronting ideas, the speaker who allows the people's representatives to fulfill their legislative tasks and monitor the government has become indispensable.