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From Roach Busters
Contents |
[edit] Office of President
19. The Head of State of _____ is the President, who shall represent and serve _____ and its people.
[edit] Powers of President
20. (1) The President is the executive Head of Government and commander-in-chief of the defense forces of _____.
(2) The President, in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the defense forces of _____, may, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed by or under any law —
(a) mobilize and call out the defense forces or any part thereof for operational purposes or otherwise for the maintenance of law and order, the preservation of the peace, the protection of life, health or property or the provision or continuance of essential services; and
(b) confer commissioned ranks in the defense forces on any person serving or qualified to serve therein and give to such person a commission under his hand.
(3) The President shall, in addition to the other provisions of this Constitution, further have power —
(a) to confer honors;
(b) to appoint and to accredit, to receive and to recognize ambassadors, plenipotentiaries, diplomatic representatives and other diplomatic officers, consuls and consular officers;
(c) to pardon or reprieve offenders, either conditionally or unconditionally and to remit any fines, penalties or forfeitures;
(d) to enter into and ratify international conventions, treaties and agreements;
(e) to proclaim and terminate martial law;
(f) to declare war and make peace; and
(g) to make such appointments as he may determine under powers vested in him by any other law and to exercise such other powers as may be vested in him and perform such other functions as may be assigned to him, by any other law.
[edit] Election of President
21. (1) The President shall be directly elected, as hereinafter provided, by general suffrage of persons who are registered as voters as contemplated by section 24(3) of this Constitution:
Provided that the preceding provisions of this subsection shall not effect the validity of the election of the President who is in office upon the commencement of the Republic of _____ Constitution Amendment Act, 1984, which President shall for all purposes in law be deemed to have been duly elected by general suffrage as hereinafter before contemplated.
(2) The election of a President shall take place on a date which, subject to the provisions of section 22 or 23 —
(a) except in the circumstances referred to in paragraph (b) or (c) of this subsection, shall not be later than one month or earlier than two months before the expiration of the term of office of the serving President;
(b) in the case where the election of a President is necessitated by reason of the fact that the office of President has become vacant because the incumbent thereof had died or due to his removal from office in terms of section _____, shall not be earlier than two and not later than three months as from the date upon which such a vacancy first arose;
(c) in the case where an incumbent of the office of President has lodged his written resignation with the Speaker in terms of section _____(1) shall not be earlier than two and not later than three months as from the date of such lodgement.
(3) Whenever in terms of this Constitution the election of a President has to take place, the Speaker shall, by notice in the Gazette and in at least one newspaper circulating in each district —
(a) proclaim such election and determine a date, time and place upon and at which a nomination court shall sit for the purpose of dealing with nominations lodged or received in respect of persons proposed as candidates for such election in terms of section 22:
Provided that the day so determined shall not be earlier than thirty days after the date of such a notice; and
(b) make known the procedure prescribed in section 22(1) in relation to nominations; and
(c) call upon persons who are qualified to be registered as voters in terms of the Electoral Act, 1979 (Act 13 of 1979), to register themselves as voters; for the purposes of the aforesaid election, mutatis mutandis in accordance with the provisions of that Act, not later than the date specified in such notice, which date shall not be earlier than thirty days after the date of such notice, and upon the date so specified, such registration shall be suspended.
(4) No person may be nominated for or be elected as President unless he —
(a) is a citizen of ____ by birth or descent;
(b) is of or above the age of forty-five years; and
(c) is a member of the National Assembly (other than a member referred to in section 39(1)(c) who has served as such a member for a continuous period of seven years or for a non-continuous period of ten years in all, or had been such a member of the National Assembly who had served as a member thereof for such a period and is not subject to any of the disqualifications mentioned in section 42(c), (d) or (e):
Provided that for the purposes of electing a President any reference in this paragraph to the National Assembly shall be construed so as to include a reference to the _____ Legislative Assembly.
(5) Any person holding any public office (other than membership of the National Assembly) in respect of which he receives any remuneration or allowance out of public funds, who is elected as President, shall not hold such office during his term as President:
Provided that a chief or headman so elected, shall retain his title as chief or headman.
[edit] Nomination procedure
22. (1) No person shall become a candidate for election to the office of the President unless —
(a) he has been duly proposed as such a candidate in a nomination paper —
(i) signed by the chairman and the secretary of or at the national congress or meeting of a political party, association of persons, organization or body which is a registered political party in terms of the Electoral Act, 1979 (Act 13 of 1979), in the case where such a person has been designated by such congress or meeting as the official candidate of such registered political party; or
(ii) which, where the person so proposed is not a person who has been designated as the official candidate of a registered political party as contemplated by subparagraph (i), shall be signed by two persons registered as voters in terms of the Electoral Act, 1979, and be accompanied by a list or lists containing the names and signatures of at least one thousand persons so registered as voters, who support the nomination of the person so proposed, each one of such signatures which shall have been authenticated by a commissioner of oaths or a justice of the peace after sufficient proof of identity had been submitted to him; and
(iii) in which the proposed candidate, under his signature, conveys that he consents to the nomination;
(b) such nomination paper, accompanied by documentary proof in regard to the matters referred to in section 21(4), and, where applicable, also by the list or lists contemplated by paragraph (a)(ii) of this subsection, is lodged with the Registrar of the Supreme Court, who shall be the secretary of the nomination court, not later than seven days prior to the date determined in terms of section 21(3), or is received by the nomination court on the date so determined; and
(c) the nomination court has, in terms of subsection (4) of this section, declared the proposed candidate to be duly nominated.
(2) A nomination court under the chairmanship of a judge of the General Division of the Supreme Court shall sit on the day determined by notice in terms of section 21(3) and, where applicable, on any day to which the proceedings have been adjourned in terms of subsection (6) of this section, for the purpose of considering the nominations of candidates for election to the office of President, and in relation to such nominations, to exercise and perform such powers, functions and duties as hereinafter provided.
(3) The nomination court shall reject —
(a) the nomination of any person in respect of whom it has not been proved to the satisfaction of such court, that he is qualified in terms of section 21(4); and
(b) any nomination in respect of which the requirements of subsection 1(a) and (b) have not been complied with,
and shall accept the nomination of any proposed candidate whose nomination has not been so rejected.
(4) Where the nomination court has, in terms of subsection (3) of this section, accepted the nomination —
(a) of only one proposed candidate, the nomination court shall declare such candidate to be duly nominated, in which event he shall be deemed to have been elected to the office of President unopposed;
(b) of two or more candidates, the nomination court shall declare to be duly nominated every such candidate who has, before termination of the proceedings before the court, deposited with the secretary of that court an amount of five thousand dollars, whether in cash or by way of banker's check, and if —
(i) only one of the proposed candidates is declared to be duly nominated in terms of the preceding provisions of this paragraph, the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection shall mutatis mutandis apply, whereupon the amount so deposited shall forthwith be refunded to him; or
(ii) any two or more or all of the proposed candidates are so declared to be duly nominated, a poll shall be held in respect of them in accordance with the provisions of section 24.
(5) (a) A proposed candidate may withdraw his consent to nomination at any time before the termination of the proceedings before the nomination court by lodging with the chairman of that court a notice of such a withdrawal under his signature, whereupon the nomination of such candidate shall lapse.
(b) No candidate may withdraw his candidature at any time after he has been declared duly nominated by the nomination court in terms of subsection (4), and any candidate who purports to do so shall remain capable of being elected President.
(6) If, on the day determined by notice in terms of section 21(3) —
(a) none of the proposed candidates has been declared to be duly nominated in terms of subsection (4) of this section or there are no nominations before the nomination court for its consideration, the nomination court shall adjourn the proceedings to a date fourteen days thence for the purpose of receiving proper or further nominations (as the case may be) on such date and shall, where circumstances so require, further adjourn the proceedings for such a period, until such time as it has, within the contemplation of subsection (4) of this section, declared any proposed candidate to be duly nominated;
(b) the nomination court is satisfied that a proposed candidate had died after a nomination paper had been lodged in respect of him in accordance with the provisions of subparagraph (ii) of subsection (1)(b) of this section, and that the nomination of such candidate would have been accepted by such court in terms of subsection (3) of this section had such candidate not died, such court, on the application of the signatories of such nomination paper or the voters represented by them, shall adjourn the proceedings before such court to a date twenty-one days thence for the purpose of enabling the applicants to tender to such court on such date a nomination paper and such other documents as may be required by this section in relation to the nomination of candidates.
[edit] Procedure where duly nominated presidential candidate dies
23. (1) Where a candidate referred to in section 22(4)(b)(ii) dies before the commencement of the polling period, the signatories of the nomination paper in respect of him shall forthwith notify the secretary of the nomination court of the death of such candidate, and furnish the necessary proof thereof, whereupon the further proceedings in relation to the election shall be suspended for a period of twenty-one days, subject to the provisions of this section, so as to enable such signatories or the voters represented by them to nominate another candidate, and for that purpose to tender to the nomination court, on a date twenty-one days as from the day of such death, a nomination paper and such other documents as may be required by section 22 in relation to the nomination of candidates.
(2) The secretary of the nomination court shall, upon receipt of a notification in terms of subsection (1), forthwith inform the Speaker accordingly, whereupon the Speaker shall, by publication in the Gazette and in at least one newspaper circling in each district —
(a) give notice of the death of the candidate concerned, and that further proceedings in relation to the election are suspended until the expiration of the period of twenty-one days, as contemplated by subsection (1);
(b) specify the date, contemplated by subsection (1), upon which, and at the time and place at which, the signatories or voters referred to in that subsection shall be entitled to propose the nomination of an alternative candidate before the nomination court; and
(c) withdraw any notice which may have been published, in terms of section 24(1)(b), in relation to the poll at which the deceased would have been a candidate had he not died before the commencement of the polling period determined in the later notice.
(3) If, on the day specified in terms of subsection (2) of this section —
(a) the nomination court has received a nomination in respect of an alternative candidate as contemplated by subsection (1) of this section, the nomination court shall consider and reject or accept such nomination (as the case may be) mutatis mutandis in accordance with the provisions of subsection (3) of section 22, and shall, where it has accepted such nomination and such alternative candidate has deposited an amount of five thousand dollars mutatis mutandis in accordance with the provisions of section 22(4)(b), declare such alternative candidate to be duly nominated, in which event a poll shall be held, in accordance with the provisions of section 24, in respect of the said alternative candidate and such of the candidates referred to 22(4)(b)(ii) as remain (hereinafter referred to as the surviving candidates) after the death of the deceased candidate; or
(b) the nomination court has not received a nomination in respect of an alternative candidate or the alternative candidate proposed has not been declared to be duly nominated, and —
(i) there is only one surviving candidate, such surviving candidate shall be deemed to have been elected to the office of President unopposed;
or
(ii) there are two or more surviving candidates, a poll shall be held in respect of them in accordance with the provisions of section 24.
(4) The Speaker shall, on being satisfied that a duly nominated candidate has died during the polling period, forthwith terminate the proceedings relating to and arising from the election, whereupon all proceedings in terms of the provisions of this Constitution in relation to the election of the President, shall be commenced afresh:
Provided that persons whose names have been entered on a voters' roll prepared in terms of section 24(3) for the purposes of the election which has been terminated in terms of this subsection, shall, for the purposes of the election proceedings to be commenced afresh, be deemed to have been duly registered as voters as required by section 21(3)(c), and their names shall be transferred to the voters' roll to be prepared afresh in accordance with the lastmentioned section.
[edit] Provisions relating to polling and result of election
24. (1) The Speaker shall, by notice in the Gazette and in at least one newspaper in circulating in each district —
(a) in the case where a candidate is deemed in terms of section 22 or 23 to have been elected to the office of President unopposed, make known the name and address of the person so elected;
(b) in the case where a poll is to be held in respect of two or more candidates, as contemplated by section 22(4)(b)(ii) or section 23(3)(a) or (b)(iv) —
(i) make known the names and addresses of such candidates;
(ii) determine the period during which such poll shall be held, by referring to the day or every consecutive day upon which polling shall take place (in this Constitution referred to as the polling period), and fix the times at which polling shall commence and close during the polling period;
(iii) declare the places specified in such notice to be polling stations for the purposes of such a poll; and
(iv) make known the name and official address of the person appointed as returning officer in terms of subsection (2) of this section.
(2)(a) The Secretary for Internal Affairs shall, within seven days as from the date upon which the nomination court has in terms of section 22 declared two or more candidates to be duly nominated, appoint a suitable person to be the returning officer for the purposes of the poll to be held in respect of such candidates in terms of this Chapter and forthwith inform the Speaker of such appointment.
(b) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the returning officer appointed in terms of paragraph (a) of this subsection shall, in relation to a poll referred to in that paragraph, have the same rights, powers, privileges, functions and duties as those conferred and imposed on a returning officer by the Electoral Act, 1979, in relation to a poll held for the purposes of electing the members of the National Assembly.
(3) The Secretary for Internal Affairs shall, upon the suspension of the registration of voters in terms of paragraph (c) of section 21(3), prepare a voters' roll containing the names and addresses of all persons who have registered themselves as voters in compliance with the notice contemplated by that paragraph (hereinafter referred to as registered voters) and forward a copy of such voters' roll to every polling station referred to in subparagraph (iii) of subsection (1)(b) of this section.
(4) For the purposes of —
(a) a poll referred to in subsection (1)(b) —
(i) no person other than a registered voter shall be entitled to vote;
(ii) voting shall be by secret ballot;
(iii) every registered voter shall be entitled to cast only one vote and may vote for only one candidate; and
(iv) a registered voter may cast his vote at any polling station referred to in subsection (1)(b)(iii) of this section; and
(b) the election of a President, the provisions of sections 31 to 36 inclusive, 38 to 41 inclusive, 44 and 45, and 50 to 67 inclusive, of the Electoral Act, 1979, shall, subject to the provisions of this Constitution, mutatis mutandis apply.
(5) The Speaker shall, as soon as the result of a poll has been determined, publicly declare the candidate who has obtained the highest number of votes at the poll to be duly elected as President and state the number of votes polled for each candidate, and shall, within seven days of such a declaration, cause a notice to this effect to be published in the Gazette and in at least one newspaper circulating in each district.
(6) The amount deposited in terms of section 22(4) or 23(3)(a) by any candidate who is unsuccessful at the poll and receives less than ten per cent of the number of votes cast for the successful candidate, shall be forfeited to the State and be paid into the _____ Revenue Fund. In all other cases the said deposit shall be refunded to the candidate in respect of whom it was made.
