Professor Hamid Ghany joins Parliament and Politics to examine the role of the Senate President’s casting vote and the parliamentary conventions governing tied votes in the Senate. The discussion explores the debate surrounding Senate President Wade Mark’s exercise of the casting vote, the implications of President Christine Kangaloo’s assent to the Special Operations Bill on October 6, and whether these developments could influence future Senate proceedings.
The constitutional provision governing casting votes states that the presiding officer votes only when the votes are equally divided, at which point a casting vote is exercised. Professor Ghany has also publicly addressed whether a settled practice governs how that vote should be cast.