[130. The Cabinet— (1) There shall be a Cabinet of Ministers, with the Chief Minister at its head, to aid and advise the Governor in the exercise of his functions.
(2) The Provincial 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 Governor.
(3) After the election of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker, the Provincial Assembly shall, to the exclusion of any other business, proceed to elect without debate one of its members to be the Chief Minister.
(4) The Chief Minister shall be elected by the votes of the majority of the total membership of the Provincial 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 Chief Minister:
Provided further that, if the number of votes secured by two or more members securing the highest number of votes is equal, further polls 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 Governor to assume the office of Chief Minister and he shall, before entering upon the office, make before the Governor 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 Chief Minister.
(6) The Cabinet shall be collectively responsible to the Provincial Assembly and the total strength of the Cabinet shall not exceed fifteen members or eleven percent of the total membership of a Provincial Assembly, whichever is higher:
Provided that the aforesaid limit shall be effective from the next general elections after the commencement of the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010.
(7) The Chief Minister shall hold office during the pleasure of the Governor, but the Governor shall not exercise his powers under this clause unless he is satisfied that the Chief Minister does not command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Provincial Assembly, in which case he shall summon the Provincial Assembly and require the Chief Minister to obtain a vote of confidence from the Assembly.
(8) The Chief Minister may, by writing under his hand addressed to the Governor, resign his office.
(9) A Minister who for any period of six consecutive months is not a member of the Provincial 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.
(10) Nothing contained in this Article shall be construed as disqualifying the Chief Minister or any other Minister for continuing in office during any period during which the Provincial Assembly stands dissolved, or as preventing the appointment of any person as Chief Minister or other Minister during any such period.
(11) The Chief Minister shall not appoint more than five Advisers.]
Footnotes:
- Section 43 of the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010 (10 of 2010), substituted Art. 130, in its present form, (w.e.f. April 19, 2010), in place of the Art. as substituted by Item 27 of the schedule to P.O. No. 14 of 1985, (w.e.f. March 2, 1985), that read :
- The Cabinet.—(1) There shall be a Cabinet of Ministers, with the Chief Minister at its Head, to aid and advise the Governor in the exercise of his functions.
(2) The Governor shall appoint from amongst the members of the Provincial Assembly a Chief Minister who, in his opinion, is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Provincial Assembly.
A[(2A) Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (2), after the twentieth day of March, one thousand nine hundred and eighty-eight, the Governor shall invite the member of the Provincial Assembly to be the Chief Minister who commands the confidence of the majority of the members of the Provincial Assembly, as ascertained in a session of the Assembly summoned for the purpose in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution:
Provided that nothing contained in this clause shall apply to a Chief Minister holding office on the twentieth day of March, one thousand nine hundred and eighty-eight, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.]
(3) The person appointed under clause (2) B[or as the case may be, invited under clause (2A)] shall, before entering upon the office, make before the Governor oath in the form set out in the Third Schedule and shall within a period of sixty days thereof obtain a vote of confidence from the Provincial Assembly.
(4) The Cabinet shall be collectively responsible to the Provincial Assembly.
(5) The Chief Minister shall hold office during the pleasure of the Governor, but the Governor shall not exercise his powers under this clause unless he is satisfied that the Chief Minister does not command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Provincial Assembly, C[in which case he shall summon the Provincial Assembly and require the Chief Minister to obtain a vote of confidence from the Assembly.]
(6) The chief Minister may, by writing under his hand addressed to the Governor, resign his office.
(7) A Minister who for any period of six consecutive months is not a member of the Provincial 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.
(8) Nothing contained in this Article shall be construed as disqualifying the Chief Minister or any other Minister for continuing in office during any period during which the Provincial Assembly stands dissolved, or as preventing the appointment of any person as Chief Minister or other Minister during any such period.
Art. 130, as adopted in 1973, read:
“130. Governor to be kept informed.—The Chief Minister shall keep the Governor informed on matters relating to Provincial administration and on all legislative proposals the Provincial Government intends to bring before the Provincial Assembly.”
A. Section 16(a) of the Constitution (Eighth Amendment) Act, 1985 (18 of 1985), inserted the said clause (2A) in Art. 130, (w.e.f November 11, 1985).
B. Section 16(b) of the Constitution (Eighth Amendment) Act 1985, (18 of 1985), inserted the said words, in clause (3) of Art. 130, (w.e.f. November 11, 1985).
C. Section 16(c) of the Constitution (Eighth Amendment) Act, 1985 (18 of 1985), added the said words, at the end of clause (5) of Art. 130, (w.e.f. November 11, 1985).