Republic of Botswana, Government Notice No. 47 of 2009 - CONSTITUTION OF BOTSWANA PROCLAMATION - Dissolution of Parliament

source: Republic of Botswana (23/8/09): TAUTONA TIMES no 23 of 2009
The Electronic Press Circular of the Office of the President
"Democracy, Development, Dignity and Discipline"

C3) 21/8/09: Republic of Botswana, Government Notice No. 47 of 2009 -
CONSTITUTION OF BOTSWANA PROCLAMATION - Dissolution of Parliament:

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred on me by section 91 (2) of the Constitution, I, Lieutenant General Seretse Khama Ian Khama, President of the Republic of Botswana, do hereby proclaim and make known that I hereby dissolve Parliament with effect from 12 midnight on this 21st day of August, 2009. PULA

GIVEN under my hand and the Public Seal at Gaborone this 21st day of August, 2009. (Signed by H.E. the President)

Further Note on Summoning and Dissolution of Parliament

The summoning, prorogation, that is discontinuing, and dissolution of Parliament are all provided for under Sections 90-93 of the Constitution

Section 90, on Sessions of Parliament states:

(1) Each session of Parliament shall be held at such place within Botswana and shall commence at such time as the President may appoint.

(2) There shall be a session of Parliament at least once in every year so that a period of six months shall not intervene between the
last sitting of Parliament in one session and the first sitting thereof in the next session.

(3) Whenever Parliament is dissolved a general election of the Elected Members of the Assembly shall be held within 60 days of the date of the dissolution and a session of Parliament shall be appointed to commence within 30 days of the date of that general election.

Further to the above, it may be noted that Botswana has, heretofore, elected 9 Parliaments, which in each case have lasted for 5 years and thus have had 5 sessions. Thus the last Parliament was the 5th Session of the 9th Parliament; while the Parliament that will be elected in October will convene thereafter as the 1st Session of the 10th Parliament.

Section 91 provides for the Prorogation and Dissolution of Parliament. It states that:

(1) The President may at any time prorogue [discontinue] Parliament.

(2) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the President may at any time dissolve Parliament. [This is what happened last week]

(3) Subject to the provisions of subsection (4) of this section, Parliament, unless sooner dissolved, shall continue for five years from the date of the first sitting of the National Assembly after any dissolution and shall then stand dissolved.

(4) At any time when Botswana is at war, Parliament may from time to time extend the period of five years specified in subsection (3) of this section for not more than 12 months at a time: Provided that the life of Parliament shall not be extended under this subsection for more than five years.

(5) If, after a dissolution of Parliament and before the holding of the general election of the Elected Members of the National Assembly, the President considers that, owing to the existence of a state of war or of a state of emergency in Botswana or any part thereof, it is necessary to recall Parliament, the President may summon the Parliament that has been dissolved to meet and that Parliament shall be deemed to be the Parliament for the time being, but the general election of the Elected Members of the National Assembly shall proceed and the Parliament that has been recalled shall, if not sooner dissolved, again stand dissolved on the day before the day on which the election is held.

Section 92 of the Constitution provides for a Vote of no confidence in the Government. It states:

"If the National Assembly at any time passes a resolution supported by a majority of all the Members of the Assembly who are entitled to vote declaring that it has no confidence in the Government of Botswana, Parliament shall stand dissolved on the fourth day following the day on which such resolution was passed, unless the President earlier resigns his or her office or dissolves Parliament."

Section 93 of the Constitution provides for sittings of the National Assembly. It states that

(1) The President may at any time summon a meeting of the National Assembly.

(2) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the sittings of the National Assembly in any session of Parliament after the commencement of that session shall be commenced at such times and on such days as the Assembly shall appoint.

Further to the above it has been common practice for Parliament to have three sessions between November and September of each year, but as can be seen this can potentially be varied.

As can be seen from the above section 91 empowers the President to dissolve Parliament while Section 92 empowers parliament to dissolve Government, in each case resulting in a timetable for elections, a key example of the checks and balances that are enshrined in our Constitution between the Executive and Legislature.

In the above context last week's dissolution of Parliament will result in a number of outcomes.

As has been widely reported it has already caused pending Parliamentary proceedings to lapse.

It has also triggered a number of deadlines.

As has been noted, a General Election must be held within 60 days of Parliaments dissolution in accordance with Section 90(3) of the Constitution.

The Nomination Day for Presidential Elections must also be held on the first Saturday following the expiry of 20 days from the date of dissolution. This is in accordance with S.4 of Presidential Elections (Supplementary Provisions) Act Cap.02:01.

The nomination day for Parliamentary and Council candidates must also be held not less than 5 and not more than 10 days after the Presidential nomination day. This is in accordance with Section 34 (2) Electoral Act Cap.02:09.

After the dissolution of Parliament the President must further issue a Writ of Election that shall determine the Election Roll, which will consist only of General and Supplementary Rolls that have been certified by that date. It will further bring into play two compulsory run-up periods, being a) the Parliamentary nomination day that must be not less than 14 days after issue of the Writ (Section 34 (2) Electoral Act Cap.02:09), and b) Election Day which must be not less than 21 days after Parliamentary Nomination day. (Section 34 (3) Electoral Act Cap.02:09).

Finally, as has also been noted above, a session of Parliament must commence within 30 days of the election in accordance with Section 91 of the Constitution.