Quorum

“17. (1) By virtue of Section 68 of the Tobago House of Assembly Act, 1996 the quorum of the Assembly and of the Committee of the whole Assembly shall consist of nine members including the member in the Chair when not the Presiding Officer.

(2) If any member draws the attention of the Presiding Officer, or of the Chairman in the Committee of the Assembly, to the fact that a quorum is not present, the Presiding Officer or Chairman, as the case may be, shall direct members to be summoned.

(3) When the order to summon members has been given in the Assembly the Presiding Officer shall, after the expiration of ten minutes, count the Assembly. If a quorum is not then present, he shall adjourn the Assembly without question put.

(4) When the order to summon members has been given in Committee of the Assembly, the Chairman shall, after the expiration of ten minutes, count the Committee. If he ascertains that a quorum is not present he shall leave the Chair, the Assembly shall resume and the Presiding Officer shall count the Assembly. If a quorum is then present, the Assembly shall again resolve itself into Committee, but if a quorum is not present, the Presiding Officer shall adjourn the Assembly without question put.

(5) If, from the number of members taking part in a division including those members who declined to vote, it appears that a quorum is not present, the division shall be invalid, and the business then under consideration shall stand over until the next sitting or until such time as a quorum is obtained whichever first occurs.

(6) The members to be summoned by the Clerk under this Standing Order shall be those members who are not in the Chamber Assembly but within the precincts thereof.”