Ascension : Press Release St Helena - Speaker of the House Resigns
Submitted by The Islander (Ascension Island Government) 07.08.2008 (Article Archived on 21.08.2008)

The Honourable Speaker, Eric George MBE, has resigned from Legislative Council. His resignation took effect from 1 August 2008.

Eric George was elected as Speaker on 12 September 2005 and has presided over many meetings of Legislative Council.

Since there is now no Speaker of the House, Governor Gurr will preside over the next Legislative Council meeting which takes place on 14 August 2008. A new Speaker will need to be elected at this meeting.

The election will need to be carried out in accordance with the Constitution. This states that “The Speaker shall be elected by the votes of a majority of the Elected Members of the Legislative Council.”

The Speaker does not need to be a member of Legislative Council. Instead, Councillors should make nominations. Each nomination will need a proposer, who must be a Councillor and a seconder who must also be a Councillor. If there is more than one nomination, candidates will be allowed to speak about their candidacy for up to five minutes. After this, Councillors will vote and if there is a tie, lots will be drawn.

Candidates will have to show that they are willing to stand for Speaker and this can be done in one of two ways. First, they can be present at the Legislative Council meeting on 14 August to confirm their willingness to be nominated. Otherwise, candidates can write to the Clerk of Council before the meeting, stating that they accept the nomination.

Potential candidates should make themselves known to Councillors now and the new Speaker of the House will be announced on 14 August.

Public Relations/Information Office

Office of the Chief Secretary

5 August 2008