It is also clear that elections must be held no later than four months after the dissolution of Parliament, that is, by October 29, 2013. Since 2010 it has been repeatedly claimed that the lifespan of the Government of National Unity is constitutionally limited, and would expire two years after it took office in February, 2011. There is no legal basis for this claim.
When this date came and went, the claims of a two-year life span morphed into claims that elections could only be held once certain political reforms, and most prominently the crafting of a new Constitution, were complete. This claim is also without any legal foundation.
The confusion continued after Mugabe lodged an affidavit with the courts as part of an application seeking to postpone the implementation of an order requiring him to call by-elections in several constituencies. In the affidavit, he said he “was desirous” of holding general elections before March 31.
On the eve of this date, Mugabe again approached the court to delay the by-elections. This time the assertion was made that as Parliament would dissolve on June 29 at the latest, the general election would be held before this date.
Welshman Ncube, a leader of the MDC, mistakenly and uncharacteristically stated during a radio interview that elections must be held within 90 days, rather than four months, of the dissolution of Parliament.
Another commentator claimed that since no person may be a Minister if they have ceased to be a Member of Parliament for longer than three months, the executive would cease to exist three months after the dissolution of Parliament in June. According to this logic, elections would have to take place by September 2013. The claim overlooked a provision in the Constitution that the three-month period does not apply if Parliament is not in session.
A key question is whether Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s consent is required in setting the date for the general election. The short answer is no. His consent pertains to the dissolution of Parliament, and not the actual election date. His consent is required if the automatic dissolution of Parliament is anticipated by a Presidential Proclamation dissolving Parliament before June 29, as a legal prelude to the calling of a general election.
In effect, his consent is required for any election date before June 29, but not for any date after.
The dates set in any Presidential proclamation of elections must conform to statutory time limits. These time limits are currently confused due to some drafting errors in the legislation.
This problem will undoubtedly be attended to when the Electoral Act is amended to align with the new Constitution. The amended Electoral Act will probably provide that the minimum and maximum dates for the nomination court are 14 and 30 days respectively and the dates for the general election thereafter, 42 and 63 days respectively.
Thus for an election to be held by the October 29, 2012, as required by the Constitution, the date will need to appear in a Presidential Proclamation made no later than September 3, 2013.- www.zimbabweelection.com
Post published in: News