Constitution of Zimbabwe (as amended by Constitution Amendment No. 19) 31E Tenure of office of Vice-Presidents, Ministers and Deputy Ministers (1) The office of a Vice-President, Minister or Deputy Minister shall become vacant— (a) if the President removes him from office; or (b) if he resigns his office by notice in writing addressed and delivered to the President; or (c) upon the assumption of office of a new President. [Subsection as amended by section 9 of Act 15 of 1990 – Amendment No. 10] (2) No person shall hold office as Vice-President, Minister or Deputy Minister for longer than three months unless he is a member of Parliament: Provided that if during that period Parliament is dissolved, he may continue to hold such office without being a member of Parliament until Parliament first meets after the dissolution. [Subsection as substituted by section 2 of Act 31 of 1989 – Amendment No. 9] (3) A person who has held office as Vice-President, Minster or Deputy Minister without also being a member of Parliament shall not be eligible for reappointment to that office before Parliament is next dissolved unless in the meantime he has become a member of Parliament. [Subsection as substituted by section 2 of Act 31 of 1989 – Amendment No. 9] 31F Vote of no confidence in Government (1) Parliament may, by resolution supported by the votes of not less than twothirds of all the members of each House, pass a vote of no confidence in the Government. [Subsection as substituted by section 5 of Act 5 of 2005 – Amendment No. 17] (2) A motion for the resolution referred to in subsection (1) shall not be moved in the House of Assembly unless— (a) not less than seven days’ notice of the motion has been given to the Speaker; and (b) the notice of the motion has been signed by not less than one-third of all the members of the House of Assembly; and shall be debated in the House of Assembly within twenty-one days after the receipt by the Speaker of the notice of the motion. [Subsection as amended by section 23 of Act 5 of 2005 – Amendment No. 17] (3) Where a vote of no confidence in the Government is passed by Parliament in terms of this section, the President shall within fourteen days do one of the following— (a) dissolve Parliament; or (b) remove every Vice-President, Minister and Deputy Minister from his office unless he has earlier resigned in consequence of the resolution; or (c) himself resign his office. - 43 -