Senate Act, 1926/1955-06-29

as amended by

Senate Act, No. 53 of 1955

E IT ENACTED by the King’s Most Excellent Majesty, the Senate and the House of Assembly of the Union of South Africa, as follows:―

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

the Governor-General may within one hundred and twenty days of any dissolution of the House of Assembly dissolve the Senate; upon any dissolution of the Senate, whether under section twenty of the South Africa Act, 1909, or in terms of paragraph (a) of this section―

those members of the Senate who were nominated by the Governor-General shall vacate their seats; the persons nominated to fill the seats so vacated shall, subject to the provisions of the South Africa Act, 1909, or of any other law, hold their seats for a period of five years from the date of their nomination or until the next succeeding dissolution of the Senate or until a change of Government has occurred, whichever be the shortest period.

A change of Government shall be considered to have occurred whenever another person than the Prime Minister for the time being becomes Prime Minister and when the Governor-General has published a notice in the Gazette, that such change of Government has occurred.