51. There shall be a Parliament of Guyana, which shall consist of the President and the National Assembly.

52. (1) Subject to paragraph (2) and to articles 105, 185 and 186, the National Assembly shall consist of sixty-five members who shall be elected in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution and, subject thereto, in accordance with any law made by Parliament in that behalf.

(2) If any person who is not a member of the National Assembly is elected to be Speaker of the Assembly, he shall, by virtue of holding the office of Speaker, be a member of the Assembly in addition to the members aforesaid.

53. Subject to article 155 (which relates to allegiance, insanity, and other matters) a person shall be qualified for election as a member of the National Assembly if, and shall not be so qualified unless, he––

(a) is a citizen of Guyana of the age of eighteen years or upwards; and
(b) is able to speak, and, unless incapacitated by blindness or other physical cause, read the English language with a degree of proficiency sufficient to enable him to take an active part in the proceedings of the Assembly.

54. Members of the National Assembly shall vacate their seats in the Assembly in the circumstances set out in article 156.

55. Whenever elections have been held pursuant to the provisions of article 61, the National Assembly shall hold its first meeting at the time appointed under article 69(1), and any reference in this Constitution to the National Assembly meeting for the first time after any election shall be read and construed as a reference to such first a meeting.

56. (1) When the National Assembly first meets after any election and before it proceeds to the despatch of any other business, elect a person to be the Speaker of the Assembly; and, if the office of Speaker falls vacant at any time before the next dissolution of Parliament, the Assembly shall, as soon as practicable, elect another person to that office.

(2) The Speaker may be elected either from among the members of the Assembly who are not Ministers of Parliamentary Secretaries or from among persons who are not members of the Assembly but are qualified for election as members.

(3) When the National Assembly first meets after any election and before it proceeds to the despatch of any other business except the election of the Speaker, the Assembly shall elect a member of the Assembly who is not a Minister of a Parliamentary Secretary to be Deputy Speaker of the Assembly; and if the office of Deputy Speaker falls vacant at any time before the next dissolution of Parliament, the Assembly shall, as soon as convenient, elect another such member to that office.

(4) A person shall vacate the office of Speaker of Deputy Speaker if required to do so by article 157 (which relates to loss of qualification for election as a member of the National Assembly and other matters).

57. (1) There shall be a Clerk and a Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly, and appointments to those offices shall be made by the President acting in accordance with the advice of the Speaker.

(2) The tenure of office and terms of service of the Clerk and Deputy Clerk and other matters relating thereto shall be regulated by article 158.

58. (1) Any person who sits or votes in the National Assembly, knowing or having reasonable ground for knowing that he is not entitled to do so, shall be liable to a penalty of fifty dollars for each day upon which he so sits or votes.

(2) Any such penalty shall be recoverable by civil action in the High Court at the suit of the Attorney General.