18th Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan

AND WHEREAS it is necessary that the Legal Framework Order, 2002, as amended by the Chief Executive’s Order No. 29 and the Chief Executive’s Order No. 32 of 2002, be declared as having been made without lawful authority and of no legal effect, and the Constitution (Seventeenth Amendment) Act, 2003 (Act No. 111 of 2003), be repealed and the Constitution further amended to achieve the aforesaid objectives;
It is hereby enacted as follows:
1.         Short title and ,commencement: (1) This Act may be called the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010.
(2)  It shall come into force at once, save as otherwise provided in this Act.
2.         Repeal, etc.- Subject to Article 264 and the
provisions of the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010,
(a) the Legal Framework Order, 2402 (Chief Executive’s Order No. 24 of 2002), the Legal Framework (Amendment) Order, 2002 (Chief Executive’s Order No. 29 of 2002) and the Legal
Framework (Second Amendment) Order, 2002 (Chief Executive’s Order No. 32 of 2002), are hereby declared to have been, made without lawful authority and of no legal effect and, therefore, shall stand repealed; and
(b} the Constitution (Seventeenth Amendment) Act, 2003 (Act No. III of 2003), is hereby repealed.
3.    Amendment of Article 1 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, hereinafter referred to as the Constitution, in Article 1, in clause (2), in paragraph (a), for the word “Baluchistan” the word “Balochistan”, for the words “North West Frontier” the words “Khyber Pakhtunkhwa”, and for the word “Sind” the word “Sindh”, shall be substituted.  4.         Amendment of Article 6 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 6, (i)   for clause (1), the following shall be substituted, namely:
“(1) Any person who abrogates or subverts or suspends or holds in abeyance, or attempts or conspires to abrogate or subvert or suspend or hold in abeyance, the Constitution by use of force or show of force or by any other unconstitutional means shall be guilty of high treason.
(ii)  in clause (2), after the word “abetting” the word “or collaborating” shall be inserted; and
(iii) after clause (2) amended as aforesaid, the following new clause shall be inserted, namely:-

12.   Amendment of Article 38 of the Constitution,- In the

Constitution, in Article 38,-

(i)   in paragraph (e), the world “and” at the end shall be omitted;

(ii)  in paragraph (f), for the full stop at the end a semicolon and the word “;and” shall be added and after paragraph (f) amended as aforesaid, the following new paragraph shall be added, namely:-

“(g) the shares of the Provinces in all federal services, including autonomous bodies and corporations established by, or under the control of, the Federal Government, shall be secured and any omission in the allocation of the shares of the Provinces in the past shall be rectified.”.

13. Amendment of Article 41 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 41,-

(i)   in clause (3), the words, brackets and figure “to be elected after the term specified in clause (7)” shall be omitted; and (ii) clauses (7), (8) and (9) shall be omitted.

14. Substitution of Article 46 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, for Article 46, the following shall be substituted namely:-

“46. President to be kept informed.- The Prime Minister shall keep the President informed on all matters of internal and foreign policy and on all legislative proposals the Federal Government intends to bring before Majlis-e-Shoora(Parliament)”.

15. Amendment of Article 48 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 48,-

(i)   In clause (1),-

(a)  after the word “act” the words “on and” shall be inserted; and

(b)  in the proviso, after the word “that” the words “within fifteen days” shall be inserted and after the word “shall” the commas and words “,within ten days,” shall be inserted; and

(ii)  for clause (5) the following shall be substituted, namely: –

“(5) Where the President dissolves the National Assembly,

notwithstanding anything contained in clause (1), he shall,-

(a)  appoint a date, not later than ninety days from the date of the dissolution, for the holding of a general election to the Assembly; and

(b)  appoint a care-taker Cabinet.”.

(iii) for clause (6) the following shall be substituted, namely: – “(6). If at any time the Prime Minister considers it necessary to hold a referendum on any matter of national importance, he may refer the matter to a joint sitting of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) and if it is approved in a joint sitting, the Prime Minister may cause such matter to be referred to a referendum in the form of a question that is capable of being answered by either “Yes” or “No”.

16. Substitution of Article 51 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, for Article 51, the following shall be substituted and shall be deemed always to have been so substituted with effect from the 21^st day of August, 2002, namely:-

“51. National Assembly.-(1) There shall be three hundred and forty-two seats for members in the National Assembly, including seats reserved for women and non-Muslims.

(2)  A person shall be entitled to vote if-

(a)  he is a citizen of Pakistan;

(b)  he is not less than eighteen years of age;

(c)  his name appears on the electoral roll; and

(d)  he is not declared by a competent court to be of unsound mind.

(3)  The seats in the National Assembly referred to in clause

(1), except as provided in clause (4), shall be allocated to each

Province, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and the Federal

Capital as under:-

                        General Seats     Women Total

Balochistan             14                3     17

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa      35                8     43

Punjab                  148               35    183

Sindh                   61                14    75

Federally Administered  12                –     12

Tribal Areas

Federal Capital         2                 –     2

Total                   272               60    332

(4)  In addition to the number of seats referred to in clause

(3), there shall be, in the National Assembly, ten seats reserved for non-Muslims.

(5)  The seats in the National Assembly shall be allocated to each Province, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and the Federal Capital on the basis of population in accordance with the last preceding census officially published.

(6)  For the purpose of election to the National Assembly,-

(a)  the constituencies for the general seats shall be single member territorial constituencies and the members to fill such seats shall be elected by direct and free vote in accordance with law,

(b)  each Province shall be a single constituency for all seats reserved for women which are allocated to the respective Provinces under clause (3);

(c)  the constituency for all seats reserved for non-Muslims shall be the whole country;

(d)  members to the-seats reserved for women which are allocated to a Province under clause (3) shall be elected in accordance with   law through proportional representation system of political parties’ lists of candidates on the basis of total number of general seats secured by each political party from the Province concerned in the National Assembly:

Provided that for the purpose of this paragraph the total number of general seats won by a political party shall include the independent returned candidate or candidates who may duly join such political party within three days of the publication in the official Gazette of the names of the returned candidates;

(e)  members to the seats reserved for non-Muslims shall be elected in accordance with law through proportional representation system of political parties’ lists of candidates on the basis of total number of general seats won by each political party in the National Assembly:

Provided that for the purpose of this paragraph the total number of general seats won by a political party shall include the independent returned candidate or candidates who may duly join such political party within three days of the publication in the official Gazette of the names of the returned candidates.”

17. Substitution of Article 58 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, for Article 58, the following shall be substituted,namely:-

“58. Dissolution of the National Assembly.- (1) The President shall dissolve the National Assembly if so advised by the Prime Minister; and the National Assembly shall, unless sooner dissolved, stand dissolved at the expiration of forty-eight hours after the Prime Minister has so advised.

Explanation.- Reference in this Article to “Prime Minister”, shall not be construed to include reference to a Prime Minister against whom a notice of a resolution for a vote of no-confidence has been given in the National Assembly but has not been voted upon or against whom such a resolution has been passed or who is continuing in office after his resignation or after the dissolution of the National Assembly.

(2)   Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (2) of Article 48, the President may also dissolve the National Assembly in his discretion where, a vote of no-confidence having been passed against the Prime Minister, no other member of the National Assembly commands the confidence of the majority of the members of the National Assembly in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, as ascertained in a session of the National Assembly summoned for the purpose.”.

18. Substitution of Article 59 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, for Article 59, the following shall be substituted, namely:

“59. The Senate.- (1) The Senate shall consist of one-hundred and four members, of whom,-

(a)  fourteen shall be elected by the members of each Provincial Assembly;

(b)  eight shall be elected from the Federally, Administered Tribal Areas, in such manner as the President may, by Order, prescribe;

(c)  two on general seats, and one woman and one technocrat including aalim shall be elected from the  Federal Capital in such manner as the President may, by Order, prescribe;

(d)  four  women  shall be  elected  by  the  members  of each Provincial Assembly;

(e)  four technocrats including ulema shall be elected by the members of each Provincial Assembly; and

(f)   four non-Muslims, one from each Province, shall be elected by the members of each Provincial Assembly:

Provided that paragraph (f) shall be effective from the next Senate election after the commencement of the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010.

(2)  Election to fill seats in the Senate allocated to each

Province shall be held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.

(3)  The Senate shall not be subject to dissolution but the term of its members, who shall retire as follows, shall be six years:-

(a)  of the members referred to in paragraph (a) of clause (1), seven shall retire after the expiration of the first three years and seven shall retire after the expiration of the next three years;

(b)  of the members referred to in paragraph (b) of the aforesaid clause, four shall retire after the expiration of the first three years and four shall retire after the expiration of the next three years;

(c)  of the members referred to in paragraph © of the aforesaid clause,-

(i)   one elected on general seat shall retire after the expiration of the first three years and the other one shall retire after the expiration of the next three years; and

(ii)  one elected on the seat reserved for technocrat shall retire after first three years and the one elected on the seat reserved for women shall retire after the expiration of the next three years;

(d)  of the members referred to in paragraph (d) of the aforesaid clause, two shall retire after the expiration of the first three years and two shall retire after the expiration of the next three years;

(e)  of the members referred to in paragraph (e) of the aforesaid clause, two shall retire after the expiration of the first three years and two shall retire after the expiration of the next three years; and

(f)   of the members referred to in paragraph (f) of the aforesaid clause, two shall retire after the expiration of first three years and two shall retire after the expiration of next three years:

Provided that the Election Commission for the first term of seats for non-Muslims shall draw a lot as to which two members shall retire after the first three years.

(4)  The term of office of a person elected to fill a casual vacancy shall be the unexpired term of the member whose vacancy he has filled.

19. Amendment of Article 61 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 61, for the word “ninety” the words “one hundred and ten” shall be substituted.

20. Substitution of Article 62 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, for Article 62, the following shall be substituted,namely: –

“62. Qualifications for membership of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament).- (1)A person shall not be qualified to be elected or chosen as a member of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) unless-

(a)  he is a citizen of Pakistan;

(b)  he is, in the case of the National Assembly, not less than twenty- five years of age and is enrolled as a voter in any electoral roll in-

(i)   any part of Pakistan, for election to a general seat or a .  seat reserved for a non-Muslims; and (ii)  any   area   in   a   Province   from   which   she   seeks membership for election to a seat reserved for women.

(c)  he is, in the case of the Senate, not less than thirty years of age and is enrolled as a voter in any area in a Province or, as

the  case  may  be,  the  Federal   Capital  or  the  Federally

Administered    Tribal    Areas,    from    where    he    seeks

membership;

(d)  he is of good character and is not commonly known as one who violates Islamic Injunctions;

(e)  he has adequate knowledge of Islamic teachings and practices obligatory duties prescribed by Islam as well as well abstains from major sins;

(f)   he is sagacious, righteous, non-profligate, honest and ameen, there being no declaration to the contrary by a court of law;

(g)  he has not, after the establishment of Pakistan, worked against the integrity of the country or opposed    the ideology of Pakistan:

(2)   The disqualifications specified in paragraphs (d) and (e) shall not apply to a person who is a non-Muslim, but such a person shall have good moral reputation;”.

21. Substitution of Article 63 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, for Article 63, the following shall be substituted,namely,-

“63. Disqualifications for membership of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament). (1) A person shall be disqualified from being elected or chosen as, and from being, a member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament),(a)  he is of unsound mind and has been so declared by a competent court; or (b)  he is an undischarged insolvent; or (c)  he ceases to be a citizen of Pakistan, or acquires the citizenship of a foreign State; or

(d)  he holds an office of profit in the service of Pakistan other than an office declared by law not to disqualify its holder; or

(e)  he is in the service of any statutory body or any body which is owned or controlled by the Government or in which the Government has a controlling share or interest; or

(f)   being a citizen of Pakistan by virtue of section 14B of the Pakistan Citizenship  Act,   1951  (II  of 1951),  he  is  for the time being disqualified under any law in force in Azad Jammu and  Kashmir from being elected as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Azad Jammu and Kashmir; or

(g)  he has been convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction for propagating any opinion, or acting in any manner, prejudicial to the ideology of Pakistan, or the sovereignty, integrity or security of Pakistan,  or the integrity or independence  of the judiciary of Pakistan, or which defames or brings into ridicule the judiciary or the Armed Forces of Pakistan, unless a period of five years has elapsed since his release; or

(h)  he has been, on conviction for any offence involving moral turpitude, sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than two years, unless a period of five years has elapsed since his release; or

(i)   he has been dismissed from the service of Pakistan or service of a corporation or office set up or, controlled, by the Federal Government, Provincial Government or a Local Government on the ground of misconduct, unless a period of five years has elapsed since his dismissal; or

(j)   he has been removed or compulsorily retired from the service of Pakistan or service of a corporation or office set up or controlled by the Federal Government, Provincial Government or a Local Government on the ground of misconduct, unless a period of three years has elapsed since his removal or compulsory retirement; or

(k)  he has been in the service of Pakistan or of any statutory body or any body which is owned or controlled by the Government or in which the Government has a controlling share or interest, unless a period of two years has elapsed since he ceased to be in such service; or

(I)  he, whether by himself or by any person or body of persons in trust for him or for his benefit or on his account or as a member of a Hindu undivided family, has any share or interest in a contract, not being a contract between a cooperative society and Government, for the supply of goods to, or for the execution of any contract or for the performance of any service undertaken by, Government:

Provided that the disqualification under this paragraph shall not apply to a person-

(i)   where the share or interest in the contract devolves on him by inheritance or succession or as a legatee, executor or administrator, until the expiration of six months after it has so devolved on him;

(ii)  where the contract has been entered into by or on behalf of a public company as defined in the Companies Ordinance, 1984 ¦   (XLVII of 1984), of which he is a shareholder but is not a director holding an office of profit under the company; or

(iii) where he is a member of a Hindu undivided family and the contract has been entered into by any other member of that family in the course of carrying on a separate business in which he has no share or interest; or

Explanation. -In this Article “goods” does not include agricultural produce or commodity grown or produced by him or such goods as he is, under any directive of Government or any law for the time being in force, under a duty or obligation to supply.

(m) he holds any office of profit in the service of Pakistan other than the following offices, namely:-

(i)   an office which is not whole time office remunerated either by salary or by fee;

(ii)  the office of Lumbardar, whether called by this or any other title;

(iii) the Qaumi Razakars;

(iv) any office the holder whereof, by virtue of such office, is liable to be called up for military training or military service under any law providing for the constitution or raising of a

Force; or

(n)  he has obtained a loan for an amount of two million rupees or more, from any bank, financial institution, cooperative society or cooperative body in his own name or in the name of his spouse or any of his dependents, which remains unpaid for more than one year from the due date, or has got such loan written off; or

(o)  he or his spouse or any of his dependents has defaulted in payment of government dues and utility expenses, including .telephone, electricity, gas and water charges in excess of ten thousand rupees, for over six months, at the time of filing his nomination papers; or

(p)  he is for the time being disqualified from being elected or chosen as a member of a Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) or of Provincial Assembly under any law for the time being inforce.

Explanation.-For the purposes of this paragraph “law” shall not include an Ordinance promulgated under Article 89 or Article 128.

(2)  If any question arises whether a member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) has become disqualified from being a member, the Speaker or, as the case may be, the Chairman, shall, unless he decides that no such question has arisen, refer the question to the Election Commission within thirty days and should he fail to do so within the aforesaid period it shall be deemed to have been referred to the Election Commission.

(3)  The Election Commission shall decide the question within ninety days from its receipt or deemed to have been received and if it is of the opinion that the member has become disqualified, he shall cease to be a member and his seat shall become vacant.”.

22.   Substitution of Article 63A of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, for Article 63A, the following shall be substituted, namely:-

“ 63A. Disqualification on grounds of defection, etc.-(l) If a member of a Parliamentary Party composed of a single political party in a House-

(a)  resigns from membership of his political party or joins another Parliamentary Party; or

(b)  votes or abstains from voting in the House contrary to any direction issued by the Parliamentary Party to which he belongs, in relation to-

(i)   election of the Prime Minister or the Chief Minister; or

(ii)  a vote of confidence or a vote of no-confidence; or

(iii) a Money Bill or a Constitution (Amendment) Bill; he may be declared in writing by the Party Head to have defected from the political party, and the Party Head may forward a copy of the declaration to the Presiding Officer and the Chief Election Commissioner and shall similarly forward a copy thereof to the member concerned:

Provided that before making the declaration, the Party Head shall provide such member with an opportunity to show cause as to why such declaration may not be made against him.

Explanation.- “Party Head” means any person, by whatever name called, declared as such by the Party.

(2) A member of a House shall be deemed to be a member of a Parliamentary Party if he, having been elected as a candidate or nominee of a political party which constitutes the Parliamentary Party in the House or, having been elected otherwise than as a candidate or nominee of a political party, has become a member of such Parliamentary Party after such election by means of a declaration in writing.

(3)  Upon receipt of the declaration under clause (1), the Presiding Officer of the House shall within two days refer, and in case he fails to do so it shall be deemed that he has referred,the declaration to the Chief Election Commissioner who shall lay the declaration before the Election   Commission   for   its  decision   thereon   confirming   the declaration or otherwise within thirty days of its receipt by the Chief Election Commissioner.

(4)  Where the Election Commission confirms the declaration, the member referred to in clause (1) shall cease to be a member of the House and his seat shall become vacant.

(5)  Any party aggrieved by the decision of the Election Commission may, within thirty days, prefer an appeal to the Supreme Court which shall decide the matter within ninety days from the date of the filing of the appeal.

(6)  Nothing contained in this Article shall apply to the Chairman or Speaker of a House.

(7)  For the purpose of this Article,-

(a)  “House” means the National Assembly or the Senate, in relation to the Federation; and a Provincial Assembly in relation to the Province, as the case may be;

(b)  “Presiding Officer” means the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Chairman of the Senate or the Speaker of the Provincial Assembly, as the case may be.

(8)  Article 63A substituted as aforesaid shall come into effect from the next general elections to be held after the commencement of the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010:

Provided that till Article 63A substituted as aforesaid comes into effect the provisions of existing Article 63A shall remain operative.”.

23.   Substitution of Article 70 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, for Article 70, the following shall be substituted,namely:-

“70. Introduction and passing of Bills. (1) A Bill with respect to any matter in the Federal Legislative List may originate in either House and shall, if it is passed by the House in which it originated, be transmitted to the other House; and, if the Bill is passed without amendment by the other House also, it shall be presented to the President for assent.

(2)  If a Bill transmitted to a House under clause (1) is passed with amendments it shall be sent back to the House in which it originated and if that House passes the Bill with those amendments it shall be presented to the President for assent.

(3)  If a Bill transmitted to a House under clause (1) is rejected or is not passed within ninety days of its laying in the House or a Bill sent to a House under clause (2) with amendments is not passed by that House with such amendments, the Bill, at the request of the House in which it originated, shall be considered in a joint sitting and if passed by the votes of the majority of the members present and voting in the joint sitting it shall be presented to the President for assent.

(4)  In this Article and the succeeding provisions of the Constitution, “Federal Legislative List”  means the Federal Legislative List in the Fourth Schedule.”.

24.   Omission of Article 71 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, Article 71 shall be omitted.

25. Amendment of Article 73 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 73, –

(i)   For clause (1) the following shall be substituted, namely:-“(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in Article 70,, a Money Bill shall originate in the National Assembly:

Provided that simultaneously when a Money Bill, including the Finance Bill containing the Annual Budget Statement, is presented in the National Assembly,a copy thereof shall be transmitted to the Senate which may, within fourteen days, make recommendations thereon to the National Assembly.”; and

(ii)  after clause (1) substituted as aforesaid, the following new clause shall be inserted, namely:-

“(1A) The National Assembly shall, consider the recommendations of the Senate and after the Bill has been’ passed by the Assembly with or without incorporating the recommendations of the Senate, it shall be presented to the President for assent.”.

26. Amendment of Article 75 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 75,-

(i)   in clause (1), for the word “thirty”, the word “ten” shall be substituted;

(ii)  for clause (2), the following shall be substituted,namely:-“(2)   When  the   President   has   returned   a   Bill   to   the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), it shall be reconsidered by the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) in joint sitting and, if it is again passed, with or without amendment, by the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), by the votes of the majority of the members of both Houses present and voting, it shall be deemed for the purposes of the Constitution to have been passed by both Houses and shall be presented to the President, and the President shall give his assent within ten days, failing which such assent shall be deemed to have been given.” ; and (iii) in clause (3), after the word “assented”, the words “or is deemed to have assented”, shall be inserted.

27. Amendment of Article 89 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution,in Article 89,-

(i)   in clause (1), before the words “National Assembly” the words “Senate or” shall be inserted; (ii) in clause (2), in paragraph (a),-

(a)  in sub-paragraph (i), for the words “four months” the words “one hundred and twenty days” shall be substituted; and for the semi-colon at the end a colon shall be substituted and thereafter the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:-

“Provided that the National Assembly may, .by a resolution extend the Ordinance for a further period of one hundred and twenty days and it shall stand repealed at the expiration of the extended period, or if before the expiration of that period a resolution disapproving it is passed by the Assembly, upon the passing of that resolution:

Provided  further that extension for further period may be made only once.”;and (b)  in sub-paragraph (ii), for the words “four months” the words “one hundred and twenty days” shall be substituted and for the semi-colon and the word  “;and “ at the end a colon shall be substituted and thereafter the following provisos shall be inserted , namely:-

Provided that either House may by a resolution extend it for a further period of one hundred and twenty days and it shall stand repealed at the expiration of the extended period, or if before the expiration of that period a resolution disapproving it is passed by a House, upon the passing of that resolution:

Provided further that extension for a further period may be made only once.

(iii) for  clause  (3),  the  following  shall  be  substituted, namely: – “(3)    without    prejudice    to    the    provisions    of clause

(2),-“

(a)    an  Ordinance  laid  before  the  National Assembly   under  sub-paragraph   (i)   of paragraph (a) of clause (2) shall be deemed to be a Bill introduced in the National Assembly; and

(b)  an Ordinance laid before both Houses under sub-paragraph(ii) of paragraph (a) of clause (2) shall be deemed to be a Bill introduced in the House where it was first laid.”.

28. Substitution of Article 90 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, for Article 90, the following shall be substituted, namely:-“90. The Federal Government.- (1) Subject to the Constitution, the executive authority of the Federation shall be exercised in the name of the

President by the Federal Government, consisting of the Prime Minister and the Federal Ministers, which shall act through the Prime Minister, who shall be the chief executive of the Federation. (2) In the performance of his functions under the Constitution, the Prime Minster may act either directly or through the Federal Ministers.”.

29. Substitution of Article 91 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, for Article 91, the following shall be substituted, namely: – “91. The Cabinet- (1) There shall be a Cabinet of Ministers, with the Prime Minister at its head, to aid and advise the President in the exercise of his functions.

(2)  The National Assembly shall meet on the twenty-first day following the day on which a general election to the Assembly  is  held,  unless sooner  summoned  by  the President. t

(3)  After the election of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker, the National Assembly shall, to the exclusion of any other business, proceed to elect without debate one of its Muslim members to be the Prime Minister.

(4)  The Prime Minister shall be elected by the votes of the majority of  the total membership of the National Assembly:

Provided that, if no member secures such majority in the first poll, a second poll shall be held between the members who secure the two highest numbers of votes in the first poll and the member who secures a majority of votes of the members present and voting shall be declared to have been elected as Prime Minister:

Provided further that, if the number of votes secured by two or more members securing the highest number of votes is equal, further poll shall be held between them until one of them secures a majority of votes of the members present and voting.

(5)  The member elected under clause (4) shall be called upon by the President to assume the office of Prime Minister and he shall, before entering upon the office, make before the President oath in the form set out in the Third Schedule:

Provided that there shall be no restriction on the number of terms for the office of the Prime Minister.

(6)  The Cabinet, together with the Ministers of State, shall be collectively responsible to the Senate and the National Assembly.

(7)  The Prime Minister shall  hold  office  during  the pleasure of the President, but the President shall not exercise his powers under this clause unless he is satisfied that the Prime Minister does not command the confidence of the majority of the members of the National Assembly, in which case he shall summon the National Assembly and require the Prime Minister to obtain a vote of confidence from the Assembly.

(8)  The Prime Minister may, by writing under his hand addressed to the President, resign his office.

(9)  A Minister who for any period of six consecutive months is not a member of the National Assembly shall, at the expiration of that period, cease to be a Minister and shall not before the dissolution of that Assembly be again appointed a Minister unless he is elected a member of that Assembly:

Provided that nothing contained in this clause shall apply to a Minister who is member of the Senate.

(10)            Nothing contained in this Article shall be construed as disqualifying the Prime Minister or any other Minister or a Minister of State for continuing in office during any period during which the National Assembly stands dissolved, or as preventing the appointment of any person as Prime Minister or other Minister or a Minister of State during any such period.”

30. Amendment of Article 92 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution,in Article 92, in clause (1),-

(i)   for the brackets and figures “(7) and (8)” the brackets and figures “(9) and (10)” shall be substituted; and