United Republic of Tanzania 1977 Constitution (reviewed 2005)

PART II. VICE-PRESIDENT

47. Vice-President his duties and powers

1. There shall be a Vice-President, who shall be the principal assistant to the President in respect of all the matters in the United Republic generally and, in particular, shall—
   1. assist the President in making a follow-up on the day-to-day implementation of Union Matters;
   2. perform all duties assigned to him by the President; and
   3. perform all duties and functions of the office of President when the President is out of office or out of the country.
2. Without prejudice to the provisions of Article 37 (5), the Vice-President shall be elected in the same election together with the President, after being nominated by his party at the same time as the Presidential candidate and being voted for together on the same ticket. When the Presidential candidate is elected the Vice-President shall have been elected.
3. A person shall be nominated to contest for the office of Vice-President on the basis of the principle that where the President of the United Republic hails from one part of the United Republic, then the Vice-President shall be a person who hails from the other part of the Union.
4. A person shall not be nominated to contest for the office of Vice-President of the United Republic, save only if—
   1. he is a citizen of the United by birth Republic in accordance with the citizenship law;
   2. he has attained the age of forty;
   3. he is a member of, and a candidate nominated by, a political party;
   4. he is qualified to be a Member of Parliament or a Member of the House of Representatives; and
   5. within the period of five years before the elections he has not been convicted by any court for any offence relating to evasion to pay any tax due to the Government..
5. Any party shall not be prevented from nominating any person to contest for the office of Vice-President for the reason only that such person is at that time holding the office of President of Zanzibar or the office of Prime Minister of the United Republic.
6. The Vice-President shall not at the same time be a Member of Parliament, Prime Minister of the United Republic, or President of Zanzibar.
7. Where a person who is Prime Minister, or President of Zanzibar is appointed or elected to be Vice-President of the United Republic he shall cease to hold the office of Prime Minister or President of Zanzibar, as the case may be.
8. The Vice-President shall perform his duties under the direction and supervision of the President and shall provide leadership and be answerable to the President in respect of any matters or functions assigned to him by the President.

48. Time of assumption of office of the Vice-President

1. The Vice-President shall assume the office of Vice-President on the same day the President assumes office.
2. The Vice-President appointed in accordance with Article 50 (4) shall take oath and assume his office after his appointment is confirmed by the National Assembly.

49. Oath of office of the Vice-President

The Vice-President shall, before assuming office, make and subscribe before the Chief Justice of the United Republic the oath of allegiance and such other oath concerning the due discharge of the function of his office as may be prescribed by Act of Parliament.

50. Tenure of office of Vice-President

1. Unless he sooner resigns or dies, a person elected or appointed in accordance with Article 37(5), to be Vice-President, shall, subject to the other provisions of this Article, hold office for a period of five years from the day he is elected Vice-President.
2. The Vice-President shall hold office until—
   1. his tenure of office expires;
   2. he dies while in office;
   3. he resigns;
   4. he is sworn in as President after the office of President falls vacant;
   5. he is convicted of any criminal offence disclosing lack of honesty or loyalty;
   6. when another President is sworn in to hold the office of President together with his Vice-President;
   7. he is removed from office following his impeachment by the National Assembly in accordance with the provisions of subarticle (3) of this Article;
   8. he otherwise ceases to hold the office of Vice-President in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.
3. The National Assembly shall have the same power to remove the Vice-President from office as it has in relation to the President save that any motion to impeach the Vice-President shall be moved before the National Assembly only if it is alleged that—
   1. the President has submitted a certificate to the Speaker stating that the Vice-President has ceased or failed to discharge the duties and functions of the office of Vice-President;
   2. he has committed acts which generally violate the Constitution or the law concerning the ethics of public leaders;
   3. he has committed acts which contravene the conditions concerning the registration of political parties specified in Article 20(2) of the Constitution;
   4. he has conducted himself in a manner that lowers the esteem of the office of President of the United Republic or the office of Vice-President.

   And no such motion shall be moved within twelve months from the time when a similar motion was previously moved and rejected by the National Assembly.

4. In the event that the office of Vice-President is vacant pursuant to the relevant provisions subarticle (2) or (3) of this Article as soon as possible and in any event within a period not exceeding fourteen days after the Vice-President has ceased to hold his office, the President shall appoint a person who shall be the Vice-President and such appointment shall be confirmed by the National Assembly by a majority vote of the Members of Parliament.
5. All other provisions of Article 46A of the Constitution shall apply also in relation to the Vice-President save only that a Vice-President who has been removed from office under subarticle (3) shall no longer qualify to hold the office of President, Vice-President, Prime Minister or President of Zanzibar.