Highlights of Parliamentary Debate
Prepared by Sarzah Yeasmin
In Association with
National Debate Federation Bangladesh.
The manners of the parliamentary debate originate from the British parliamentary procedures followed in the House of Commons. Therefore the debate will have two teams participating in it, typically, referred as the Government side and the Opposition.
The two teams participating should have three members each.
Titles given to the members of the Government side:
First Spokesperson- Prime Minister
Second Spokesperson- Minister for the motion prevailing in the House or the Chief Whip
Third Spokesperson- Member of the Parliament
Titles given to the Opposition team members:
First Spokesperson- Opposition Party Leader
Second Spokesperson- Minister against the
motion prevailing in the House or the opponent
Chief Whip
Third Spokesperson- Member of the Parliament
(Opposition)
Sequence for presenting the dialogue
1. Prime Minister
2. Opposition Party Leader
3. Minister ( Government)
4. Minister ( Opposition)
5. Member of The Parliament (Government)
6. Member of the Parliament (Opposition)
7. Opposition Party Leader ( Rebuttal)
8. Prime Minister ( Rebuttal and Ending Speech)
The Debate is divided in 2 parts:
Constructive Rebuttal ( Responsive)
In the rebuttal round the Opposition Leader will get
1.30 minutes. A reminder is given after 1 minute and
on 1.30 minutes the final indication is drawn. The
Prime Minister will also get 1.30 minutes for the
rebuttal.
A Speaker will
conduct the debate
and the
spokespersons
(debaters) of each
team must address
the speaker
(debate moderator/
adjudicator) before
placing his or her
dialogue.
Speaker’s Responsibility and Power
-Analyzing the arguments made and bills proposed in the house
- Declaring the temporary discontinuation of the debate in the
times of necessity
- Conducting and completing the formalities of the debating session
accordingly
-Evaluating the level, basic and appropriateness of the debate.
- Allowing the members of the jury board to make their analysis and decisions.
- Reminding and Restricting the spokesperson if he continues to make his dialogue after the time allotted is over.
The audience and the debaters in the house will have to abide by the decisions of the speaker.
However the speaker cannot interrupt the dialogue of any spokesperson if the dialogue is taking place
within the allotted time for the spokesperson.
Every speaker in the parliament has a set structure
for making their dialogue.
The Prime Minister has to:- Explain the summary and substance of the motion of the debate. And clarify if there is any jargon or
specific terms assisting the motion of the debate ( if there are any such words)
- Present the core of the propositions and interests of the team.
- Explain the procedures or laws in regard to the bill or discussion.
- Include the sentences that the Opposition party might come up with. This will give the speech a
complete dimension.
Opposition Leader’s Speech
- Refute and explain if there is
any illogical dialogue made by
the Prime Minister.
- Specify and signify the areas of
decree and disagreement.
- Promote a counter model to
refute the bill presented by the
government side.
- Summarize the possible logical
grounds of the next
spokesperson’s speech.
Member of Parliament’s Speech ( both parties):- Speak according to the summary provided by the group
leader and detail the main logical grounds of the party.
-Refute some of the dialogues
made by the opposition.
-Provide enough logical
ground for own speech
- Summarize the
statements/decisions made by the
party.
Points to be noted:The debaters can
interrupt in between the
speech made by the debaters of
the opponent team through POINT OF
ORDER, POINT OF PRIVILEGE and
POINT OF INFORMATION
Point of Order:If a debater does not end his
speech within the given time,
then an extra of 15 seconds is
given to him in order to
complete the speech.
The POO can only be raised
-after that 15 seconds speech
-if a debater introduces a new issue within the motion
in the rebuttal round.
- If the information or decision provided by the
member is misinterpreted by other members.
Point of Privilege can de made by a debater when:
-His dialogue or logical grounds are being misquoted by the member
of the opposition.
- A team member attacks another member from the opposite team in
a unruly manner or personally.
Point of Information can be raised when:
- a member wants to know the source of the information being presented by the member of
the opposite team -a member asks for a brief explanation of the
grounds provided by the member of the opposite team.
- A member intends to know an example or practicability of the
strategy presented by the opposite team.
The POO will be raised In The
HouSE with the permission from the Speaker
15 seconds will be allotted to explain the POO raised. If the point is regarded/not regarded ( in both cases) then 15
seconds time would be deducted from the main speech being delivered by the current speaker.
It is the final decision of the Speaker to grant or reject a point.
If the Point is taken- ‘ The Point is well taken.’
If the Point is not taken- ‘ The Point is not taken.’
If the POO can be successfully placed then marks/ numbers will be
added to group coordination.
POI can either be taken or rejected by the opponent team member. But if the point is taken then it cannot be rejected anymore. If no answer or weak answer is given to the POI raised, then the answering team will
be penalized with negative marking.
POI can be raised directed without seeking the permission from the Speaker. The question of the POI
must be completed within 15 seconds since the answering member will have a 15 seconds deduction
from his original speech delivering time.
Only and Only questions can be asked during the POI.
Now you know the whereabouts of Parliamentary Debate, there are few of the things you need to keep in mind:
-Have clarity in your expression. Debating does not mean you have to break out into a loud speaker
-Do not make your tone sound quarrelsome.- Keep your voice in a moderate level so that people can
understand.
- Handle your nerves properly
- Study and study: to increase critical
thinking
- And listen carefully rather than
exploding with words in your mouth.