Unelected President?
9 February 2018
In 1973, the Watergate Scandal broke, eventually costing United States of America’s President Richard Nixon his scalp in 1974. The Deputy President, Gerald Ford, was appointed, unelected, into the position, which he held for three more years. He holds the distinction as the only unelected President of the USA in the 20th Century. Back home, the Constitution contemplates such a scenario, albeit for a temporary period.
Specifically, section 90 of the Constitution governs the eventuality of an Acting President in circumstances where the President is “absent from the Republic or otherwise unable to fulfil the duties of President, or during a vacancy in the office of President”. Prior to assuming the office of the President, the Acting President “must swear or affirm faithfulness to the Republic and obedience to the Constitution”.
Thereafter, section 86(3) provides that “An election to fill a vacancy in the office of President must be held at a time and on a date determined by the Chief Justice, but not more than 30 days after the vacancy occurs.”
Read together, sections 90 and 86(3) therefore mean that an Acting President can only remain in that position for a period no longer than 30 days. It becomes incumbent on the National Assembly to elect a new President, after which the title ‘acting’ falls away and South Africa is again granted a ‘permanent’ President. The term ‘permanent’ is qualified in accordance with constitutional limits regarding the President’s tenure in office. Specifically, section 88(2) provides that “…but when a person is elected to fill a vacancy in the office of President, the period between that election and the next election of a President is not regarded as a term.” This leaves any such President free for re-election, with the Constitution placing a two-term limit.