57.     Parliament

          There shall be a Parliament of Botswana which shall consist of the President and a National Assembly.

58.     Composition of National Assembly

          (1) The President shall be ex-officio a member of the National Assembly, and shall be entitled to speak and to vote in all proceedings of the National Assembly.

          (2) In addition to the President the National Assembly shall consist of-

    (a)     57 Elected Members who shall be elected in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution and subject thereto in accordance with the provisions of any Act of Parliament; and

    (b)     four Specially Elected Members who shall be elected in accordance with the First Schedule to this Constitution and subject thereto in accordance with the provisions of any Act of Parliament.

          (3) If a person who is not a member of the National Assembly is elected to the office of Speaker of the National Assembly, that person shall, by virtue of holding that office, be a member of the Assembly in addition to the members referred to in subsections (1) and (2) of this section.

59.     Speaker

          (1) There shall be a Speaker of the National Assembly who shall be elected by the Members of the Assembly from among persons who are Members of the Assembly or from among persons who are not Members of the Assembly.

          (2) The President, the Vice-President, a Minister, an Assistant Minister or a public officer shall not be qualified to be elected as Speaker.

          (3) The Speaker shall vacate his or her office-

    (a)     if, having been elected from among the Members of the National Assembly, he or she ceases to be a Member of the Assembly otherwise than by reason of a dissolution of Parliament or if he or she is required by virtue of section 68(2) to (3) of this Constitution, to cease to perform his or her functions as a Member of the Assembly;

    (b)     if any circumstances arise that, if he or she were not Speaker, would disqualify him for election as such;

    (c)     when the Assembly first sits after any dissolution of Parliament; or

    (d)     if he or she is removed from office by a resolution of the Assembly supported by the votes of not less than two-thirds of all the Members thereof.

          (4) No business shall be transacted in the National Assembly (other than an election to the office of Speaker) at any time when the office of Speaker is vacant.

60.     Deputy Speaker

          (1) There shall be a Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly who shall be elected from among the persons who are Members of the Assembly other than the President, the Vice-President, Ministers or Assistant Ministers.

          (2) The Members of the National Assembly shall elect a person to the office of Deputy Speaker when the Assembly first sits after any dissolution and, if the office becomes vacant otherwise than by reason of the dissolution of the Assembly, at the first sitting of the Assembly after the office becomes vacant.

          (3) The Deputy Speaker shall vacate his or her office-

    (a)     if he or she ceases to be a Member of the National Assembly, otherwise than by reason of a dissolution of Parliament;

    (b)     if any circumstances arise that, if he or she were not Deputy Speaker, would disqualify him or her for election as such;

    (c)     if he or she is required, by virtue of section 68(2) to (3) of this Constitution, to cease to perform his or her functions as a Member of the Assembly;

    (d)     if he or she is elected as Speaker;

    (e)     if he or she is removed from office by a resolution of the Assembly supported by the votes of not less than two-thirds of all the Members of the Assembly; or

    (f)      when the Assembly first sits after any dissolution of Parliament.

61.     Qualifications for election to National Assembly

          Subject to the provisions of section 62 of this Constitution, a person shall be qualified to be elected as a Member of the National Assembly if, and shall not be qualified to be so elected unless-

    (a)     he or she is a citizen of Botswana;

    (b)     he or she has attained the age of 18 years;

    (c)     he or she is qualified for registration as a voter for the purposes of the election of the Elected Members of the National Assembly and is so registered; and

    (d)     he or she is able to speak, and, unless incapacitated by blindness or other physical cause, to read English well enough to take an active part in the proceedings of the Assembly.

62.     Disqualifications for membership of National Assembly

          (1) No person shall be qualified to be elected as a Member of the National Assembly who-

    (a)     is, by virtue of his or her own act, under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power or state;

    (b)     has been declared insolvent or adjudged or otherwise declared bankrupt under any law for the time being in force in Botswana and has not been discharged, or has made a composition with his or her creditors and has not paid his or her debts in full;

    (c)     is certified to be insane or otherwise adjudged or declared to be of unsound mind under any law for the time being in force in Botswana;

    (d)     is a Member of the Ntlo ya Dikgosi;

    (e)     subject to such exceptions as may be prescribed by Parliament, holds any public office, or is acting in any public office by virtue of a contract of service expressed to continue for a period exceeding six months;

    (f)      is under sentence of death imposed on him or her by a court in any part of the Commonwealth, or is under a sentence of imprisonment (by whatever name called) exceeding six months imposed on him or her by such a court or substituted by competent authority for some other sentence imposed on him or her by such a court;

    (g)     holds, or is acting in, any office the functions of which involve any responsibility for, or in connection with, the conduct of any elections to the Assembly or the compilation or revision of any electoral register for the purposes of such elections.

          (2) Parliament may provide that a person shall not be qualified for election to the National Assembly for such period (not exceeding five years) as may be prescribed if he or she is convicted of any such offence connected with elections to the Assembly as may be prescribed.

          (3) For the purposes of this section two or more terms of imprisonment that are required to be served consecutively shall be regarded as a single term of imprisonment for the aggregate period of those terms, and no account shall be taken of a sentence of imprisonment imposed as an alternative to or in default of the payment of a fine.

63.     Constituencies

          Botswana shall be divided into as many constituencies as there are Elected Members of the National Assembly and each of those constituencies shall return one Member to the National Assembly.

64.     Delimitation Commission

          (1) The Judicial Service Commission shall, not later than 1st March, 1969, and thereafter at intervals of not less than five nor more than 10 years, appoint a Delimitation Commission consisting of a Chairman and not more than four other members.

          (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, at any time when-

    (a)     Parliament has made provision altering the number of seats of Elected Members in the National Assembly; or

    (b)     a comprehensive national population census is held in Botswana,

the Judicial Service Commission shall, as soon as practicable thereafter, appoint a Delimitation Commission.

          (3) The Chairman of a Delimitation Commission shall be selected from among persons who hold or have held high judicial office.

          (4) No person shall be qualified to be appointed as Chairman or member of a Delimitation Commission who-

    (a)     is a Member of the National Assembly;

    (b)     is or has been within the preceding five years actively engaged in politics; or

    (c)     is a public officer.

          (5) A person shall be deemed to be actively engaged in politics or to have been so engaged during the relevant period if-

    (a)     he or she is, or was at any time during that period, a Member of the National Assembly;

    (b)     he or she is, or was at any time during that period, nominated as a candidate for election to the National Assembly; or

    (c)     he or she is, or was at any time during that period, the holder of an office in any political organization that sponsors or supports, or has at any time sponsored or supported, a candidate for election as a Member of the National Assembly:

          Provided that no person shall be disqualified from holding the office of Chairman or member of a Delimitation Commission by reason only of the fact that he or she has been the Speaker of the National Assembly if he or she was elected to that office from amongst persons who were not Members of the National Assembly.

          (6) The office of Chairman or other member of the Delimitation Commission shall become vacant if circumstances arise that, were he or she not Chairman or member of the Delimitation Commission, would disqualify him or her for appointment as such.

          (7) If, after the appointment of the Delimitation Commission and before the Commission has submitted its report under section 65, the office of Chairman or any other member of the Commission falls vacant or the holder of the office becomes unable for any reason to discharge his or her functions as a member of the Commission, the Judicial Service Commission may, subject to the provisions of subsections (3) to (5) of this section, appoint another person to be a member of the Commission:

          Provided that a member appointed under this section because of the inability of some other member to discharge his or her functions shall cease to be a member of the Commission when, in the opinion of the Judicial Service Commission, that other member is able to resume his or her functions as a member of the Commission.

65.     Report of Commission

          (1) Whenever a Delimitation Commission has been appointed the Commission shall as soon as practicable submit to the President a report which shall state whether any alteration is necessary to the boundaries of the constituencies in order to give effect to subsection (2) of this section or in consequence of any alteration in the number of seats of Elected Members in the National Assembly and where any alteration is necessary shall include a list of the constituencies delimited by the Commission and a description of the boundaries of those constituencies.

          (2) The boundaries of each constituency shall be such that the number of inhabitants thereof is as nearly equal to the population quota as is reasonably practicable:

          Provided that the number of inhabitants of a constituency may be greater or less than the population quota in order to take account of natural community of interest, means of communication, geographical features, density of population, and the boundaries of Tribal Territories and administrative districts.

          (3) In this section "population quota" means the number obtained by dividing the number of inhabitants of Botswana (as ascertained by reference to the latest comprehensive national population census in Botswana) by the number of constituencies into which Botswana is divided under section 63 of this Constitution.

          (4) The President shall as soon as practicable after the submission of the report of the Delimitation Commission, by Proclamation published in the Gazette, declare the boundaries of the constituencies as delimited by the Commission.

          (5) A Proclamation made under subsection (4) of this section shall come into force at the next dissolution of the National Assembly after it is made.

          (6) The Commission may by regulation or otherwise regulate its own procedure and may, subject to its rules of procedure, act notwithstanding any vacancy in its membership or the absence of any member and its proceedings shall not be invalidated by the presence or participation of any person not entitled to be present at or to participate in those proceedings:

          Provided that any decision of the Commission shall require the concurrence of a majority of all its members.

          (7) In the exercise of its functions under this section the Delimitation Commission shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority.

          (8) A Delimitation Commission shall stand dissolved upon the date on which its report is delivered to the President.

65A.  Appointment of Independent Electoral Commission

          (1) There shall be an Independent Electoral Commission which shall consist of-

    (a)     a Chairman who shall be a judge of the High Court appointed by the Judicial Service Commission;

    (b)     a legal practitioner appointed by the Judicial Service Commission; and

    (c)     five other persons who are fit, proper and impartial, appointed by the Judicial Service Commission from a list of persons recommended by the All Party Conference.

          (2) Where the All Party Conference fail to agree on all or any number of persons referred to in subsection (1)(c) of this section up to dissolution of Parliament, the Judicial Service Commission shall appoint such person or persons as are necessary to fill any vacancy.

          (3) For the purposes of this section, "All Party Conference" means a meeting of all registered political parties convened from time to time by the Minister.

          (4) The first appointments of the Chairman and the Members of the Commission shall be made not later than 31st January, 1999, and thereafter subsequent appointments shall be made at the last dissolution of every two successive lives of Parliament.

          (5) The Chairman and the members of the Commission shall hold office for a period of two successive lives of Parliament.

          (6) A person shall not be qualified to be appointed as a member of the Independent Electoral Commission if-

    (a)     he or she has been declared insolvent or adjudged or otherwise declared bankrupt under any law in force in any part of the Commonwealth and has not been discharged, or has made a composition with his or her creditors and has not paid his or her debts in full; or

    (b)     he or she has been convicted of any offence involving dishonesty in any country.

          (7) A person appointed a member of the Commission shall not enter upon the duties of the office of Commissioner until he or she has taken and subscribed the oath of allegiance and such oath for the due execution of his or her office as may be prescribed by an Act of Parliament.

          (8) The Commission shall regulate its own procedure and proceedings.

          (9) The Chairman shall preside over all proceedings, and in his or her absence, the legal practitioner referred to in subsection (1)(b) shall preside over the proceedings.

          (10) The quorum shall be four members, one of whom shall be the Chairman or the said legal practitioner.

          (11) All issues shall be decided by the decision of the majority of the members present and voting.

          (12) The Commission shall be responsible for-

    (a)     the conduct and supervision of elections of the Elected Members of the National Assembly and members of a local authority, and conduct of a referendum;

    (b)     giving instructions and directions to the Secretary of the Commission appointed under section 66 in regard to the exercise of his or her functions under the electoral law prescribed by an Act of Parliament;

    (c)     ensuring that elections are conducted efficiently, properly, freely and fairly; and

    (d)     performing such other functions as may be prescribed by an Act of Parliament.

          (13) The Commission shall on the completion of any election conducted by it, submit a report on the exercise of its functions under the preceding provisions of this section to the Minister for the time being responsible for matters relating to such elections, and that Minister shall, not later than seven days after the National Assembly first meets after he or she has received the report, lay it before the National Assembly.

66.     Appointment of Secretary to Independent Electoral Commission

          (1) There shall be a Secretary to the Independent Electoral Commission referred to in section 65A (in this section referred to as "the Secretary").

          (2) The Secretary shall be appointed by the President.

          (3) The functions of the Secretary shall, subject to the directions and supervision of the Independent Electoral Commission, be to exercise general supervision over the registration of voters for elections of-

    (a)     the Elected Members of the National Assembly; and

    (b)     the members of any local authority,

and over the conduct of such elections.

          (4) A person shall not be qualified to be appointed as Secretary to the Independent Electoral Commission if-

    (a)     he or she is not a citizen of Botswana;

    (b)     he or she has been declared insolvent or adjudged or otherwise declared bankrupt under any law in force in any part of the Commonwealth and has not been discharged, or has made a composition with his or her creditors and has not paid his or her debts in full; or

    (c)     he or she has been convicted of any offence involving dishonesty in any country.

          (5) A person shall not enter upon the duties of the office of Secretary until he or she has taken and subscribed to the oath of allegiance and such oath for the due execution of his or her office as may be prescribed by an Act of Parliament.

          (6) For the purposes of the exercise of his or her functions under subsection (3) of this section, the Secretary may give such directions as he or she considers necessary or expedient to any registering officer, presiding officer or returning officer relating to the exercise by that officer of his or her functions under any law regulating the registration of voters or the conduct of elections, and any officer to whom directions are given under this subsection shall comply with those directions.

          (7) Subject to the provisions of this section, a person holding office as Secretary shall vacate that office on attaining the age of 65 years or such other age as may be prescribed by an Act of Parliament.

          (8) A holder of the office of Secretary may be removed from office only for inability to perform the functions of his or her office (whether arising from infirmity of body or mind or from any other cause) or for misbehaviour, and shall not be so removed except in accordance with the provisions of this section.

          (9) If the President considers that the question of removing the Secretary ought to be investigated then-

    (a)     he or she shall appoint a tribunal which shall consist of a Chairman and not less than two members who hold or have held high judicial office;

    (b)     the tribunal shall enquire into and report on the facts thereof to the President and advise the President whether the Secretary ought to be removed from office under this section for inability to perform the functions of his or her office or for misbehaviour.

          (10) Where a tribunal appointed under subsection (9) advises the President that the Secretary ought to be removed for inability to perform the functions of his or her office or for misbehaviour, the President shall remove him or her from office.

          (11) If the question of removing the Secretary from office has been referred to a tribunal under subsection (9) of this section, the President may suspend him or her from performing the functions of his or her office, and any such suspension may at any time be revoked by the President and shall cease to have effect if the tribunal advises the President that the Secretary ought not to be removed from office.

67.     The franchise

          (1) A person who-

    (a)     is a citizen of Botswana or of any other country to which this section is applied by Parliament;

    (b)     has attained the age of 18 years; and

    (c)     has either resided in Botswana for a continuous period of at least 12 months immediately preceding the date on which he or she applies for registration as a voter or was born in Botswana and is domiciled in Botswana on the date on which he or she applies for registration as a voter,

shall, unless he or she is disqualified for registration as a voter under any law, be entitled, upon his or her making application in that behalf at such time and in such manner as may be prescribed by any law, to be registered as a voter for the purposes of elections of Elected Members of the National Assembly, and no other person may be so registered.

          (2) A person who has not continuously resided in Botswana for the period mentioned in paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of this section but has during the whole period retained his or her residence (or if he or she has more than one residence, his or her principal residence) in Botswana and has been absent therefrom for some temporary purpose only shall be deemed for the purposes of the said paragraph (c) to have been resident in Botswana during such absence.

          (3) A person shall be entitled to be registered as a voter-

    (a)     in the constituency in which he or she has his or her residence, or if he or she has more than one residence in Botswana in the constituency in which he or she has his or her principal residence; or

    (b)     in the case of a person who does not have a residence in Botswana but is able to register in person, in the constituency in which he or she last resided, or in which he or she was born; or

    (c)     in the case of a person who is not resident in Botswana and is unable to register in person, at such place as may be prescribed by Parliament and registration at such place shall be treated as registration in the constituency in which he or she last resided, or in which he or she was born in Botswana.

          (4) A person shall be entitled to be registered as a voter in one constituency only.

          (5) Every person who is registered in any constituency as a voter for the purposes of elections of the Elected Members of the National Assembly shall, unless he or she is disqualified by Parliament from voting in such elections on the grounds of his or her having been convicted of an offence in connection with the elections or on the grounds of his or her having been reported guilty of such an offence by the court trying an election petition or on the grounds of his or her being in lawful custody at the date of the election, be entitled so to vote in that constituency in accordance with the provisions made by or under a law in that behalf; and no other person may so vote.

68.     Tenure of office of Members

          (1) The seat of an Elected Member or a Specially Elected Member of the National Assembly shall become vacant-

    (a)     upon the dissolution of Parliament;

    (b)     if he or she is absent from the sittings of the Assembly for such period and in such circumstances as may be prescribed in the rules of procedure of the Assembly;

    (c)     subject to the provisions of subsections (2) to (3) of this section, if any circumstances arise that, if he or she were not a Member of the Assembly, would cause him or her to be disqualified for election thereto.

          (2) If circumstances such as are referred to in paragraph (c) of the preceding subsection arise in relation to a Member of the Assembly by virtue of the fact that he or she is declared insolvent, adjudged to be of unsound mind, sentenced to death or imprisonment, or convicted of an election offence and it is open to the Member to appeal against the decision (either with the leave of the court or other authority or without such leave), he or she shall forthwith cease to perform his or her functions as a Member of the Assembly but, subject to the next following subsection, he or she shall not vacate his or her seat until the expiration of a period of 30 days thereafter:

          Provided that the Speaker may, at the request of the Member, from time to time extend that period for further periods of 30 days to enable the Member to pursue an appeal against the decision, so, however, that extensions of time exceeding in the aggregate 150 days shall not be given without the approval of the Assembly signified by resolution.

          (3) If, on the determination of any appeal, such circumstances continue to exist and no further appeal is open to the Member of the Assembly, or if, by reason of the expiration of any period for entering an appeal or notice thereof or the refusal of leave to appeal or for any other reason, it ceases to be open to the Member to appeal, he or she shall forthwith vacate his or her seat.

          (4) If at any time before the Member of the Assembly vacates his or her seat such circumstances as aforesaid cease to exist, his or her seat shall not become vacant by reason of those circumstances, and he or she may resume the performance of his or her functions as a Member of the Assembly.

69.     Determination of questions as to membership of National Assembly

          (1) The High Court shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine any question whether-

    (a)     any person has been validly elected as an Elected Member of the National Assembly or the seat of any such Member has become vacant;

    (b)     any person has been validly elected as Speaker of the Assembly or, having been so elected, has vacated the office of Speaker.

          (2) Any question whether any person has been validly elected as a Specially Elected Member of the National Assembly or whether the seat of any such Member has become vacant shall be determined by the Speaker.

          (3) Parliament may make provision with respect to-

    (a)     the persons who may apply to the High Court for the determination of any question under this section;

    (b)     the circumstances and manner in which the conditions upon which any such application may be made; and

    (c)     the powers, practice and procedure of the High Court in relation to any such application.

70.     Clerk of the Assembly

          (1) There shall be a Clerk of the National Assembly and an Assistant Clerk of the National Assembly and their offices shall be offices in the public service.

          (2) There shall be such other offices in the department of the Clerk of the Assembly as may be prescribed by resolution of the National Assembly and such offices shall be offices in the public service.