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Senate.

Act No. 53 of 1955.

Act

To make provision for the dissolution and the constitution of the Senate, to amend the South Africa Act, 1909, and the South-West Africa Affairs Amendment Act, 1949, and to provide for matters incidental thereto.

(English text signed by the Governor-General.)
(Assented to 20th June, 1955.)

Preamble.Whereas it is by section twenty-five of the South Africa Act, 1909, provided that Parliament may provide for the manner in which the Senate shall be constituted after the expiration of a period of ten years from the establishment of the Union.

And whereas provision is made in the said section twenty-five for the manner in which the Senate shall be constituted until Parliament otherwise provides:

And whereas it is expedient to make provision for the constitution of the Senate in a manner other than that provided for in the said section twenty-five:

And whereas it is expedient to make provision for matters incidental thereto:

Be it therefore enacted by the Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty, the Senate and the House of Assembly of the Union of South Africa, as follows:―

Dissolution of the Senate.

1. (1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in sections twenty, twenty-four and twenty-five of the South Africa Act, 1909, or any other law―

(a)

the Governor-General shall by proclamation in the Gazette, dissolve the Senate at any time before the thirty-first day of December, 1955; and

(b)

all the members of the Senate except those members of the Senate who were elected under the Representation of Natives Act, 1936 (Act No. 12 of 1936), but including those members who were elected or nominated under the South-West Africa Affairs Amendment Act, 1949 (Act No. 23 of 1949), shall, upon the dissolution of the Senate in terms of paragraph (a) of this section, vacate their seats,

and the Senate shall thereafter be constituted as provided in this Act.

(2)

(a)

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in section twenty of the South Africa Act, 1909, or any other law, the Governor-General may at any time within one hundred and twenty days from the expiry of the term of office of a provincial council under section seventy-three of the said Act, by proclamation in the Gazette dissolve the Senate.