Constitutional Court Mawarire v Mugabe NO & Ors Chidyausiku CJ 58 Elections (1) A general election and elections for members of the governing bodies of local authorities shall be held on: i such day or days within a period not exceeding four months after the issue of a proclamation dissolving Parliament under section 63(7) or, ii as the case may be, the dissolution of Parliament under section 63(4) as the President may, by proclamation in the Gazette, fix." READING "B" "PART 6 Elections and Sessions 58 Elections (1) A general election and elections for members of the governing bodies of local authorities shall be held on such day or days within a period not exceeding four months after: i ii the issue of a proclamation dissolving Parliament under section 63(7) or, as the case may be, the dissolution of Parliament under section 63 (4) as the President may, by proclamation in the Gazette, fix." There could be any number of other variations the section 58(1) text can be broken into, but the two scenarios above will suffice for the purpose of this case. Both Reading "A" and Reading "B" answer to the question when elections are to be held but with one putting the emphasis on the preposition "on" and the other on "after". Both interpretations are compelling. Adopting one interpretation or the other results in starkly different outcomes. In one case elections must be held within the life of Parliament. In the other case, elections may be held up to four months after the dissolution of Parliament. A Court faced with competing possible interpretations of a constitutional provision must call into aid principles or canons of construction. In this regard FIELDSEND CJ had this to say in Hewlett v Minister of Finance 1981 ZLR 571: "... in general the principles governing the interpretation of a Constitution are basically no different from those governing the interpretation of any other legislation. It is necessary to look to the words used and to deduce from them what any particular section, phrase or word means, having regard to the overall context in which it appears." Accordingly, s 58(1) must be examined, not in isolation, but having regard to the overall context in which it appears. In this regard it is important to immediately quote s 63 referred to in this provision, emphasising the key subss 63(7) and 63(4): "63 Prorogation or dissolution (l) The President may at any time prorogue Parliament. [Subsection substituted by section 6 of Act No. 23 of 1987 (Amendment No. 7)] (2) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the President may at any time dissolve Parliament. [Subsection substituted by section 6 of Act No. 23 of 1987 (Amendment No. 7)] (3) ... [Subsection repealed by section 6 of Act No. 23 of 1987 (Amendment No. 7)]” (4) Parliament, unless sooner dissolved, shall last for five years, which period shall be deemed to commence on the day the person elected as 6