52 5.7 Assumption of office by President and Vice-Presidents (1) Persons elected as President and Vice-Presidents assume office when they take, before the Chief Justice or the next-most senior judge available, the oaths of President and VicePresident respectively in the forms set out in the Third Schedule, which oaths they must take— (a) on the ninth day after they are declared to be elected; or (b) in the event of a challenge to the validity of their election, within forty-eight hours after the Constitutional Court has declared them to be the winners. (2) The incumbent President continues in office until the assumption of office by the President-elect in terms of subsection (1). (3) A Vice-President who becomes President on the death, resignation or removal from office of the President assumes office when he or she takes, before the Chief Justice or the nextmost senior judge available, the oath of President in the form set out in the Third Schedule, which oath he or she must take as soon as possible and in any event within forty-eight hours after becoming President. 5.8 Term of office of President and Vice-Presidents (1) The term of office of the President or a Vice-President commences on the day he or she is sworn in and assumes office in terms of section 5.7(1)(a) or 5.7(3), but where there has been a challenge to the election and he or she is sworn in after the Constitutional Court has declared him or her to be the winner, the term of office is deemed to have commenced on the ninth day after polling in the election concerned. (2) The term of office of the President or a Vice-President extends until— (a) he or she resigns or is removed from office; or (b) following an election, he or she is declared to be re-elected or a new President is declared to be elected; and, except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, their terms of office are five years and coterminous with the life of Parliament. 5.9 Resignation of President or Vice-President (1) The President may resign his or her office by written notice to the Speaker, who must give public notice of the resignation as soon as it is possible to do so and in any event within twenty-four hours. (2) A Vice-President may resign his or her office by written notice to the President, who must give public notice of the resignation as soon as it is possible to do so and in any event within twenty-four hours. 5.10 Removal of President or Vice-President from office (1) The Senate and the National Assembly, by a joint resolution passed by at least one-half of their total membership, may resolve that the question whether or not the President or a VicePresident should be removed from office for— (a) serious misconduct;