Constitution Watch 9/2017
After impeachment, what then?
20 November
If therefore Parliament does resolve in terms of section 97 of the Constitution that Mr
Mugabe should be removed from office, the consequences will be:
• Mr Mugabe immediately ceases to hold office as President.
• Mr Mphoko, the sole Vice-President, will take over as Acting President. The
fact that Mr Mphoko may be in detention or outside the country does not
matter: his assumption of office will be automatic, and will not depend on his
taking an oath of office.
[If Mr Mphoko is persuaded to resign or is impeached this will not happen,
because he will cease to be Vice-President upon his resignation or the
passing of the impeachment motion.]
Even if Mr Mphoko does not resign or is not impeached, his term of office as Acting
President may be fleeting, and will depend on how soon ZANU-PF can notify the
Speaker that it has nominated Mr Mnangagwa as Mr Mugabe’s successor. This
may be no longer than the time it takes for the party’s Chief Whip to walk to the
Speaker’s chair and hand in the nomination notice. Once that is done, Mr
Mnangagwa will become President [not acting President] and will assume office
when he is sworn in by the Chief Justice in terms of paragraph 14(5) of the Sixth
Schedule to the Constitution.
What Happens Thereafter
The new President will hold office until the next general election, which should be
held not later than the 23rd August 2018.
Upon the assumption of office by the new President – i.e. when he is sworn in – all
current Ministers and Deputy Ministers will go out of office in terms of section
108(1)(c) of the Constitution. They will however be eligible for re-appointment when
the new President appoints his own Ministers. It is hoped that the he will reduce the
number in what has been an unnecessarily large Cabinet.
And what happens to Mr Mugabe? That remains to be seen.
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