SINGAPORE – Mr Christopher de Souza and Mr Xie Yao Quan will be nominated as Deputy Speakers of Parliament for the new term by Deputy Leader of the House Zaqy Mohamad.

Mr Zaqy will put the two PAP MPs up for nomination when Parliament resumes on Sept 22 to debate the President’s Address. If elected, this will be Mr de Souza’s second term while Mr Xie is being nominated for the first time.

In a Facebook post on Sept 12, Mr Zaqy, who is Senior Minister of State for Defence and Sustainability and the Environment, said he is confident that the pair will bring to the role a strong sense of duty, sound judgment, and respect for the rules and spirit of parliamentary democracy.

“Both are deeply committed to good governance and to fostering meaningful dialogue that reflects the aspirations and concerns of Singaporeans,” Mr Zaqy said.

If elected, both men will take over the responsibilities of Speaker Seah Kian Peng when he is not around. As Deputy Speakers, their duties include presiding over parliamentary proceedings and regulating the time allotted to various MPs during debates.

Mr Seah was re-elected as the Speaker of Parliament on Sept 5 during the first sitting of the 15th Parliament before the newly-elected MPs were sworn in. The 15th term has 97 elected MPs and two Non-Constituency MPs.

Mr de Souza, a five-term MP for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, is familiar with the role. He was deputy speaker alongside Ms Jessica Tan for the entire 14th term of Parliament – from Aug 31, 2020 till Parliament dissolved in April ahead of the general election.

Mr Zaqy said that Mr de Souza who is a lawyer by training has earned respect across the House for his calm demeanour, legal clarity and fairness when presiding over debates.

He also acknowledged Mr de Souza’s role as chair of the government parliamentary committees (GPCs) for home affairs and law during the previous parliamentary term, where “he strengthened policy discourse on justice and public trust, and notably moved a motion in Parliament to reinforce S...