72 (3) The procedures and processes of Parliament and its committees, as provided for in Standing Orders, must promote transparency, must encourage the involvement of members of all political parties in Parliament and the public, and must be fair and just. (4) Any committee established by or under Standing Orders must reflect, as closely as possible, the political and gender composition of Parliament or of the House to which the Standing Orders apply. 6.25 Presidential addresses and messages to Parliament (1) The President may at any time address either House of Parliament or a joint sitting of both Houses. (2) The President may send messages to either House of Parliament, and any such message must be read by a Vice-President or Minister or by the person presiding over the House concerned. (3) The President may attend Parliament to answer questions on any issue as may be provided in Standing Orders. (4) At least once a year the President must address a joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament on the state of the nation, and the Speaker and the President of the Senate must make the necessary arrangements for Parliament to receive such an address. 6.26 Public access to and involvement in Parliament Parliament must— (a) facilitate public involvement in its legislative and other processes and in the processes of its committees; (b) ensure that interested parties are consulted about Bills being considered by Parliament, unless such consultation is inappropriate or impracticable; and (c) conduct its business in a transparent manner and hold its sittings, and those of its committees, in public, though measures may be taken— (i) to preserve order in parliamentary proceedings; (ii) to regulate public access, including access of the media, to Parliament and its committees; (iii) to exclude the public, including the media, from sittings of committees; and (iv) to provide for the searching of any person and, where appropriate, the refusal of entry to Parliament or the removal of any person from Parliament; but those measures must be fair, reasonable and justifiable in an open, just and democratic society. 6.27 Validity of proceedings in Parliament (1) A vacancy in the membership of the Senate or the National Assembly, or the suspension of a member of Parliament, does not prevent the Senate or the National Assembly from transacting its business.