Parliamentary Glossary A to Z

Parliamentary Glossary - A to Z

• Absentee voting: Absent members can vote by mail or proxy.
• Abstain: Voluntarily not voting on a question.
• Acclamation: Oral vote, typically unanimous, taken when consensus is clear.
• Adhering motion: A motion related to the main question, handled alongside it if postponed or referred.
• Adjourn: Officially ending a meeting.
• Adjourn sine die: Ending a meeting permanently.
• Adjourned meeting: Continuation of a meeting, legally part of the original session.
• Adopt: Voting to accept or approve a proposition.
• Affirmative vote: A "yes" vote.
• Agenda: List of items to be considered at a meeting.
• Amend: Modifying a motion or question formally.
• Annul: Cancelling or invalidating a previous action.
• Appeal: Requesting the assembly to review a presiding officer's decision.
• Assembly: A group of people with a shared objective, from meetings to organizations.
• Aye: Affirmative vote, equivalent to "Yes" or "Yea".
• Ballot: Secret voting method using paper ballots.
• Board of management: Group overseeing an organization's affairs (e.g., directors, trustees).
• Business: Any matter brought before an assembly.
• By-laws: Rules of an organization, second in authority to the constitution.
• Call for orders of the day: Requesting adherence to the established order of business.
• Call to order: Notifying an assembly to begin official business.
• Candidate: Person nominated for an office.
• Caucus: Meeting of party leaders to set policies.

Parliamentary Glossary - B to D

• Carried: Approved by sufficient votes.
• Canvass: Reviewing election results.
• Chair: Presiding officer of an assembly.
• Change in parliamentary situation: Significant change in an assembly's context requiring a reassessment of a proposal.
• Change vote: Request to alter a prior vote.
• Charter: Documents for establishing an organization following legal processes.
• Close debate: Ending discussion on a topic.
• Commit: Referencing a matter to a committee.
• Committee: Group tasked with investigating, reporting, or acting on topics.
• Committee of tellers: Group counting votes.
• Committee of the whole: Entire assembly acting as a committee.
• Committee on ways and means: Committee handling financial matters.
• Common law: System of laws developed through customs and court rulings in England.
• Common parliamentary procedure: System for managing and governing deliberative bodies (except legislatures).
• Conference: Meeting for discussion and consultation.
• Constitution: Foundational document outlining an organization's governing principles.
• Consideration: Evaluation of proposals.
• Convene: Gathering a group for meetings.
• Convention: Meeting of delegates representing groups with shared aims.
• Credential: Documentation validating a person's right to attend a meeting.
• Debate: Discussion of an issue before an assembly.
• Delegate: Representative authorized to act for a group or organization.
• Debatable: Open for discussion.
• Deliberative body: Assembly where issues are discussed to reach decisions.
• Dilatory tactics: Actions delaying final decisions.
• Director: Leader of an organization.

Parliamentary Glossary - E to I

• Disappearing quorum: Members leaving a meeting, reducing the number present to below the required minimum.
• Dispose of a question: Removing a question from consideration, either temporarily or permanently.
• Dissolve an organisation: Terminating an organization's existence.
• Division of the assembly: Counting votes or members on a question.
• Division of the question: Separating a complex question into smaller, more manageable parts.
• Entertain: Accepting a motion for discussion.
• Ex-officio: Holding an office due to a position, not an election.
• Executive board: Principal organization committee for governing daily operations.
• Expunge: Removing records or actions from the official register and explicitly condemning them.
• Filibuster: Tactic to obstruct or delay a decision using lengthy speeches.
• Filling blanks: Voting on specific items of an agenda independently.
• Floor: Right to speak before an assembly.