Proclamation calling general, presidential and local authority elections
Section 38 of Electoral Act

Presidential election

In a proclamation calling the election in fixing a day or days for the holding of a presidential election the President must also fix—

• a place or places at which, and a day or days, not less than fourteen and not more than twenty one days after the day of publication of the proclamation, on which a nomination court will sit for the purpose of receiving nominations of candidates for election to the office of President; and
• a day or days, not less than twenty-eight and not more than fifty days after the nomination day or last nomination day, as the case may be, on which a poll will be taken if a poll becomes necessary.

Parliamentary election

In a proclamation calling the election in fixing a day or days for the holding of a parliamentary election the President must also fix—

• a place or places at which, and a day or days, not less than fourteen and not more than twenty one days after the day of publication of the proclamation, on which a nomination court will sit for the purpose of receiving nominations of candidates for election to Parliament; and
• a day or days, not less than twenty-eight and not more than fifty days after the nomination day or last nomination day, as the case may be, on which a poll will be taken if a poll becomes necessary.

Local authority election

In a proclamation calling the election in fixing a day or days for the holding of a local authority election the President must also fix—

• a place or places at which, and a day or days, not less than fourteen and not more than twenty one days after the day of publication of the proclamation, on which a nomination court will sit for the purpose of receiving nominations of councillor; and
• a day or days, not less than twenty-eight and not more than fifty days after the nomination day or last nomination day, as the case may be, on which a poll will be taken if a poll becomes necessary.

Election of Chiefs as Senators

For the purposes of the appointment and election of Chiefs as Senators the President must, in the proclamation fix the times and places at which and a day or days between the date of publication of the proclamation and the day or the last day, of the poll for the Presidential election on which—

• each provincial assembly of Chiefs referred to in section 35 of the Traditional Leaders Act must convene for the purpose of electing the Council of Chiefs in terms of section 37 of the Traditional Leaders Act; and
• the Council of Chiefs referred to in section 37 of the Traditional Leaders Act must convene for the purpose of electing the President and the Deputy President of the Council of Chiefs; and
• when the electoral colleges must meet being not earlier than the day or last day, as the case may be of the poll for the Presidential election and not later than 48 hours after the day or last day, as the case may be, of the election so fixed

Subject to section 58(1) of the Constitution, the President may, by further proclamation in the Gazette, alter any day, time or place so fixed and the day, time or place as so altered will be deemed to have been fixed in terms of the appropriate subsection.