Oath to be taken by members of National Assembly

(1) Except for the purposes of enabling this section to be complied with, no member of either House shall sit or vote therein, or be entitled to receive any salary or emoluments in respect of his office until he has made and subscribed before that House the oath of allegiance and office, Provided that the election of a Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and the election of a President and Vice- President of the Senate may take place before the members of the House of Representatives or of the Senate, as the case may be, have made and subscribed such oath. (2) If between the time when a person becomes a member of the House of Representatives and the time when that House first meets thereafter, a meeting takes place of any committee of that House of which that person is a member, that person may, in order to enable him to attend the meeting and take part in the proceedings of the committee, make and subscribe the oath before the Speaker or, if the Speaker is absent from Belize or the office of Speaker is vacant, before the Deputy Speaker; 93 and the making and subscribing of the oath in such manner shall suffice for all the purposes of this section. (3) The provisions of subsection (2) of this section shall apply in relation to a person who becomes a member of the Senate as they apply in relation to a person who becomes a member of the House of Representatives but as if references to the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker were references to the President and the Vice-President.