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CHAPTER 8
The National Council
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| Article 68 - Establishment |
| There shall be a
National Council which shall have the powers and functions set
out in this Constitution. |
Article
69 - Composition |
| (1) |
The National Council
shall consist of two (2) members from each region referred to
in Article 102 hereof, to be elected from amongst their members
by the Regional Council for such region. |
| (2) |
The elections of
members of the National Council shall be conducted according
to procedures to be prescribed by Act of Parliament. |
Article
70 - Term of Office of Members |
| (1) |
Members of the National
Council shall hold their seats for six (6) years from the date
of their election and shall be eligible for re-election. |
| (2) |
When a seat of a
member of the National Council becomes vacant through death,
resignation or disqualification, an election for a successor
to occupy the vacant seat until the expiry of the predecessor's
term of office shall be held, except in the instance where such
vacancy arises less than six (6) months before the expiry of
the term of the National Council, in which instance such vacancy
need not be filled. Such election shall be held in accordance
with the procedures prescribed by the Act of Parliament referred
to in Article 69(2) hereof. |
Article
71 - Oath or Affirmation |
| Every member of
the National Council shall make and subscribe to an oath or solemn
affirmation before the Chief Justice, or a Judge designated by
the Chief Justice for this purpose, in the terms set out in Schedule
3 hereof. |
Article
72 - Qualifications of Members |
| No person shall
be qualified to be a member of the National Council if he or
she is an elected member of a Local Authority, and unless he
or she is qualified under Article 47(1)(a) to (e) hereof to be
a member of the National Assembly. |
Article
73 - Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson |
| The National Council shall, before
proceeding to the dispatch of any other business, elect from its members
a Chairperson and a Vice-Chairperson. The Chairperson, or in his or her
absence the Vice-Chairperson, shall preside over sessions of the National
Council. Should neither the Chairperson nor the Vice Chairperson be present
at any session, the National Council shall elect from amongst its members
a person to act as Chairperson in their absence during that session. |
Article
74 - Powers and Functions |
| (1) |
The National Council
shall have the power to: |
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(a) |
consider in terms of Article
75 hereof all bills passed by the National Assembly; |
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(b) |
investigate and report to the
National Assembly on any subordinate legislation, reports and
documents which under law must be tabled in the National Assembly
and which are referred to it by the National Assembly for advice; |
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(c) |
recommend legislation on matters
of regional concern for submission to and consideration by the
National Assembly; |
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(d) |
perform any other functions
assigned to it by the National Assembly or by an Act of Parliament. |
| (2) |
The National Council
shall have the power to establish committees and to adopt its
own rules and procedures for the exercise of its powers and the
performance of its functions. A committee of the National Council
shall be entitled to conduct all such hearings and collect such
evidence as it considers necessary for the exercise of the National
Council's powers of review and investigations, and for such purposes
shall have the powers referred to in Article 59(3) hereof. |
| (3) |
The National Council
shall in its rules of procedure make provision for such disclosure
as may be considered to be appropriate in regard to the financial
or business affairs of its members. |
| (4) |
The duties of the
members of the National Council shall include the following: |
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(a) |
all members of the National
Council shall maintain the dignity and image of the National
Council both during the sittings of the National Council as well
as in their acts and activities outside the National Council; |
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(b) |
all members of the National
Council shall regard themselves as servants of the people of
Namibia and desist from any conduct by which they seek improperly
to enrich themselves or alienate themselves from the people. |
| (5) |
Rules providing
for the privileges and immunities of members of the National
Council shall be made by Act of Parliament and all members shall
be entitled to the protection of such privileges and immunities. |
Article
75 - Review of Legislation |
| (1) |
All bills passed
by the National Assembly shall be referred by the Speaker to
the National Council. |
| (2) |
The National Council
shall consider bills referred to it under Sub-Article (1) hereof
and shall submit reports thereon with its recommendations to
the Speaker. |
| (3) |
If in its report
to the Speaker the National Council confirms a bill, the Speaker
shall refer it to the President to enable the President to deal
with it under Articles 56 and 64 hereof. |
| (4) |
(a) |
If the National Council in its
report to the Speaker recommends that the bill be passed subject
to amendments proposed by it, such bill shall be referred by
the Speaker back to the National Assembly. |
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(b) |
If a bill is referred back to
the National Assembly under Sub-Article (a) hereof, the National
Assembly may reconsider the bill and may make any amendments
thereto, whether proposed by the National Council or not. If
the bill is again passed by the National Assembly, whether in
the form in which it was originally passed, or in an amended
form, the bill shall not again be referred to the National Council,
but shall be referred by the Speaker to the President to enable
it to be dealt with under Articles 56 and 64 hereof. |
| (5) |
(a) |
If a majority of two-thirds
of all the members or the National Council objects to the principle
of a bill, this shall be mentioned in its report to the Speaker.
In that event, the report shall also indicate whether or not
the National Council proposes that amendments be made to the
bill, if the principle of the bill is confirmed by the National
Assembly under Sub-Article (b) hereof, and if amendments are
proposed, details thereof shall be set out in the report. |
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(b) |
If the National Council in its report objects
to the principle of the bill, the National Assembly shall be required
to reconsider the principle. If upon such reconsideration the National
Assembly reaffirms the principle of the bill by a majority of two-thirds
of all its members, the principle of the bill shall no longer be an issue.
If such two-thirds majority is not obtained in the National Assembly,
the bill shall lapse. |
| (6) |
(a) |
If the National Assembly reaffirms
the principle of the bill under Sub-Article 5(b) hereof by a
majority of two-thirds of all its members, and the report of
the National Council proposed that in such event amendments be
made to the bill, the National Assembly shall then deal with
the amendments proposed by the National Council, and in that
event the provisions of Sub-Article 4(b) shall apply mutatis
mutandis. |
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(b) |
If the National Assembly reaffirms
the principle of the bill under Sub-Article 5(b) hereof by a
majority of two-thirds of all its members, and the report of
the National Council did not propose that in such event amendments
be made to the bill, the National Council shall be deemed to
have confirmed the bill, and the Speaker shall refer the bill
to the President to be dealt with under Articles 56 and 64 hereof. |
| (7) |
Sub-Articles (5)
and (6) hereof shall not apply to bills dealing with the levying
of taxes or the appropriation of public monies. |
| (8) |
The National Council
shall report to the Speaker on all bills dealing with the levying
of taxes or appropriations of public monies within thirty (30)
days of the date on which such bills were referred to it by the
Speaker, and on all other bills within three (3) months of the
date of referral by the Speaker, failing which the National Council
will be deemed to have confirmed such bills and the Speaker shall
then refer them promptly to the President to enable the President
to deal with the bills under Articles 56 and 64 hereof. |
| (9) |
If the President
withholds his or her assent to any bill under Article 56 hereof
and the bill is then dealt with in terms of that Article, and
is again passed by the National Assembly in the form in which
it was originally passed or in an amended form, such bill shall
not again be referred to the National Council, but shall be referred
by the Speaker directly to the President to enable the bill to
be dealt with in terms of Articles 56 and 64 hereof. |
Article
76 - Quorum |
| The presence of
a majority of the members of the National Council shall be necessary
to constitute a meeting of the National Council for the exercise
of its powers and the performance of its functions. |
Article
77 - Voting |
| Save as is otherwise
provided in this Constitution, all questions in the National
Council shall be determined by a majority of the votes cast by
members present other than the Chairperson, or in his or her
absence the Vice-Chairperson or the member presiding at that
session, who shall, however, have and may exercise a casting
vote in the case of an equality of votes. |