Tomorrow, Sunday, King Abdullah II will inaugurate the second ordinary session of the 19th National Assembly, with a speech from the throne.

The two Houses shall, within fourteen days of the Throne address, submit their responses separately.

After listening to the speech from the throne, the 29th Senate will hold its first session under the chairmanship of its president, Faisal Al-Fayez. Last September, the National Assembly’s regular session was postponed until November 13, and the Assembly was called to meet as of Sunday.

As soon as the notables’ session ends, the House of Representatives holds its inaugural session, which is chaired by the oldest deputy in the Public Prosecution, assisted by the two youngest members present, according to Article 3 of the House’s bylaw, where the House of Representatives begins their work by electing the Speaker of the House, as the House may not conduct any discussion or issue any A decision before the election of its president, according to Article 5 of the rules of procedure.

The position of Speaker of the Council shall be won by the one who obtains the absolute majority of the attendees (half the number of attendees + one), if the candidates for the position are more than two, but if the two candidates are only two, then the winner shall be considered the one who obtains the relative majority. No candidate obtained that majority, the election is re-elected between the two candidates who obtained the highest votes, and whoever obtains the relative majority is considered the winner, and if the votes are equal, a lottery is drawn between them.

As soon as the election result is announced, the elected president is invited to assume the presidency, then the process of electing the first and second deputies takes place one by one and in the manner in which the president was elected. Among two or more candidates for the same position, a lottery is held between them.

After electing the members of the permanent office (the president, his two deputies, and his assistants), the council elects a committee from its members to formulate a response to the throne speech, in preparation for its approval by the council, and submitting it to the king.
At the beginning of each regular session, the deputies choose the members of the 15 permanent parliamentary committees.

The House of Representatives, in its next regular session, which lasts six months, will discuss the draft law on the state’s general budget and government units for the fiscal year 2023, in preparation for its approval at least one month before the start of the fiscal year, pursuant to the provisions of Article 112 of the Constitution, in addition to the legislation received from the government. In addition to 50 draft laws in the possession of the Council and its permanent committees, as well as the reports of the Audit Bureau for the years 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Since its election two years ago, the current parliament has approved 56 laws, discussed 150 questions, and directed 244 parliamentary memoranda to the government.