A procedural authority which provides a comprehensive description of the rules, practices and precedents of the House. It may be consulted by members and by the public. The current edition, often referred to as Marleau and Montpetit, was published simultaneously in hard copy and online in 2009.

An electoral system in which voters elect individual members to represent their electoral district. Members are declared elected when they obtain a simple plurality of the votes cast in each constituency, which are counted by secret ballot. The majority of parliaments use this system.

In parliamentary systems where the number of seats in a legislature depends on the proportion of the popular vote won by parties, the election of the Speaker and certain other positions is conducted through an exhaustive ballot. This involves several rounds of voting, with the last-placed candidate being eliminated after each round, until a party or coalition achieves a majority in the legislature. This is used for elections to the parliaments of France, Greece, Italy and San Marino, as well as for some subnational assemblies.

A term describing any interest, financial or otherwise, which interferes with a member’s ability to perform their duties. It can prevent a member from voting on a given matter or from being recognized for speaking in debate. Usually, conflicts of interest are dealt with by the use of a declaration of interest procedure.