So the earliest possible proclamation date is Monday 30th April 2018 for polling on Monday 23rd July [leaving an 84-day period from proclamation to polling] And the latest possible proclamation date is Monday 9th Sunday 8th July 2018 for polling on Wednesday 21st August [leaving a 44-day period from proclamation to polling]. Consultation with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission [ZEC] Section 144(3) of the Constitution lays down that the dates for the election must be fixed by the President consultation with the Zimbabwe “after Electoral Commission”. Section 339(2) explains that this means ZEC must be afforded a reasonable opportunity to make recommendations or representations about proposed dates and that the President must give careful consideration to any such recommendations and representations although he is not obliged to follow them. The need for this consultation with ZEC is repeated in section 38(1) of the Electoral Act. Note: The President is under no legal or constitutional obligation to consult with Cabinet. Section 110(2)(e) of the Constitution as read together with section 110(6) makes it clear that the President’s responsibility for calling elections is an executive function in the exercise of which he is not obliged to act on Cabinet advice. The President is, however, free to consult Cabinet if he wishes to. Dissolution of the Present Parliament It will not be for the President to dissolve Parliament, in the election proclamation or by any other means. The dissolution of Parliament will occur automatically in terms of section 143(1) of the Constitution, which provides as follows— stands dissolved at midnight on the day before the first “Parliament polling day in the next general election called in terms of section 144”. Exceptional Circumstances Although the Constitution no longer allows for ordinary dissolution of Parliament by Presidential Proclamation, and provides that normally Parliament should serve out its five-year terms, Section 143 of the Constitution provides for an early dissolution of Parliament in the following exceptional circumstances: a refusal by Parliament to pass an annual Appropriation Bill [the Budget] [section 143(3)] the passing by a least two-thirds of the members of the National Assembly and the Senate, sitting separately, of resolutions to dissolve Parliament [section 143(2)]
So the earliest possible proclamation date is Monday 30th April 2018 for polling on Monday 23rd July [leaving an 84-day period from proclamation to polling] And the latest possible proclamation date is Monday 9th Sunday 8th July 2018 for polling on Wednesday 21st August [leaving a 44-day period from proclamation to polling]. Consultation with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission [ZEC] Section 144(3) of the Constitution lays down that the dates for the election must be fixed by the President “after consultation with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission”. Section 339(2) explains that this means ZEC must be afforded a reasonable opportunity to make recommendations or representations about proposed dates and that the President must give careful consideration to any such recommendations and representations although he is not obliged to follow them. The need for this consultation with ZEC is repeated in section 38(1) of the Electoral Act. Note: The President is under no legal or constitutional obligation to consult with Cabinet. Section 110(2)(e) of the Constitution as read together with section 110(6) makes it clear that the President’s responsibility for calling elections is an executive function in the exercise of which he is not obliged to act on Cabinet advice. The President is, however, free to consult Cabinet if he wishes to. Dissolution of the Present Parliament It will not be for the President to dissolve Parliament, in the election proclamation or by any other means. The dissolution of Parliament will occur automatically in terms of section 143(1) of the Constitution, which provides as follows— “Parliament stands dissolved at midnight on the day before the first polling day in the next general election called in terms of section 144”. Exceptional Circumstances Although the Constitution no longer allows for ordinary dissolution of Parliament by Presidential Proclamation, and provides that normally Parliament should serve out its five-year terms, Section 143 of the Constitution provides for an early dissolution of Parliament in the following exceptional circumstances: a refusal by Parliament to pass an annual Appropriation Bill [the Budget] [section 143(3)] the passing by a least two-thirds of the members of the National Assembly and the Senate, sitting separately, of resolutions to dissolve Parliament [section 143(2)]
Modified%20ELECTION%20WATCH%201-2017%20-%20Timeframe%20for%202018%20General%20%26%20Presidential%20Election.docx