106. Constitution of Provincial Assemblies.

^[110B]

(1)	Each Provincial Assembly shall consist of general seats and seats reserved for women and non-Muslims as specified herein below. General seats Women Non-Muslims Total Baluchistan 51 11 3 65 The North-West Frontier Province 99 22 3 124 The Punjab 297 66 8 371 Sind 130 29 9 168

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

(a) he is a citizen of Pakistan;

(b) he is not less than [111] [eighteen] years of age;

(c) his name appears on the electoral roll for any area in the Province; and

(d) he is not declared by a competent court to be of unsound mind [112] [.]

^[113] * * *

^[114]

(3)

For the purpose of election to a Provincial 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. (b) each Province shall be a single constituency for all seats reserved for women and non-Muslims allocated to the respective Provinces under clause (1); (c) the members to fill seats reserved for women and non-Muslims allocated to a Province under clause (1) shall be elected in accordance with law through proportional representation system of political parties' lists of candidates on the basis of the total number of general seats secured by each political party in the Provincial Assembly: [114A] [Provided that for the purpose of this sub-clause,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.]

^[114B] * * *

(1) There shall be a Provincial Assembly for each Province consisting of the number of members hereinafter specified to be elected by direct and free vote in accordance with law.

Baluchistan                        40
The North-West Frontier Province   80
The Punjab                        240
Sind                              100

"Provided that, for the purpose of the first general election to the Provincial Assembly or an election to a seat falling vacant before the holding of the second general election to the Assembly, paragraph (b) shall have effect as if for the word "eighteen" the word "twenty-one" were substituted."

(3) In addition to the seats in the Provincial Assemblies for the Provinces of Baluchistan, the Punjab, the North-West Frontier and Sind specified in clause (1), there shall be in those assemblies the number of seats hereinafter specified for non-Muslims.

___________________________________________________________________________
                               Hindus and       Sikh, Buddhist     Persons
Province        Christians      persons            and Parsi    belonging to 
                              belonging to       communities    the Quadiani 
                              the scheduled       and other     group or the
                                castes           non-Muslims    Lahori group
                                                              (who call them-
                                                               selves Ahmadis)
______________________________________________________________________________

Baluchistan          1              1                 1             -

The North-West
Frontier Province    1              _                 1             1

The Punjab           5              1                 1             1

Sind                 2              5                 1             1

______________________________________________________________________________

Explanation.- Where no independent seat is allocated to a minority in a Province for being very small in number, the seat allocated jointly to all other non-Muslims in that Province shall be deemed to include that minority.

"(3) In addition to the seats in the Provincial Assemblies for the Provinces of Baluchistan, the Punjab, the North-West Frontier and Sind specified in clause (1), there shall be in those Assemblies the number of additional seats hereinafter specified reserved for persons belonging to the Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and Paris communities [115] [and persons of the Quadiani group or the Lahori group who call themselves 'Ahmadis')] [116] [and other non-Muslims and persons belonging to the scheduled castes] :-

Baluchistan                                  1
The North-West Frontier Province             1
The Punjab                              [117]5 
Sind                                         2

Provided that a political party securing less than five per centum of the total number of seats in the Provincial Assembly shall not be entitled to any seat reserved for women and non-Muslims.

(4) Until the expiration of a period of ten years from the commencing day or the holding of the [118] [third] general election to the Assembly of a Province, whichever occurs later, there shall be in the Assembly a number of additional seats reserved for women equal to five per centum of the number of members of that Assembly specified in clause (1).

[119][(5) The members to fill the seats referred to in clause (3) shall be elected, simultaneously with the members to fill the seats referred to in clause (1), on the basis of separate electorates by direct and free vote in accordance with law.]

[120][(6) As soon as practicable after the general election to a Provincial Assembly, the members to fill seats in that Assembly reserved for women shall be elected in accordance with law on the basis of a system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote by the electoral college consisting of the persons elected to that Assembly.]

"(5) As soon as practicable after the general election to a Provincial Assembly, the members to fill seats reserved in the Assembly for the persons referred to in clause (3) of for women shall be elected in accordance with law by the members of that Assembly referred to in clause (1)"

112. Dissolution of Provincial Assembly.

[121A][(1)] The Governor shall dissolve the Provincial Assembly if so advised by the Chief Minister; and the Provincial Assembly shall, unless sooner dissolved, stand dissolved at the expiration of forty-eight hours after the Chief Minister has so advised.

Explanation.- Reference in this Article to "Chief Minister" shall not be construed to include reference to a Chief Minister against whom [122] [notice or a resolution for a vote of no-confidence has been given] in the Provincial Assembly but has not been voted upon or against whom a resolution for a vote of no-confidence has been passed or who is continuing in office by virtue of clause (2) of Article 134 or a Provincial Minister performing the functions of the Chief Minister under clause (1) or clause (3) of Article 135.

[123] (2) The Governor may also dissolve the Provincial Assembly in his discretion, but subject to the previous approval of the President, where, in his opinion:-

(a) a vote of no-confidence having been passed against the Chief Minister, no other member of the Provincial Assembly is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Provincial Assembly in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, as ascertained in a session of the Provincial Assembly summoned for the purpose; or

^[123A] (b) a situation has arisen in which the Government of the Province cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and an appeal to the electorate is necessary.

^[123B]

[(3) The Governor in case of dissolution of the Provisional Assembly under paragraph (b) of clause (2) shall within fifteen days of the dissolution refer the matter to the Supreme Court with the previous approval of the President and the Supreme Court shall decide the reference within thirty days whose decision shall be final.]

Prior to this, sub-clause (b) which read as follows, was omitted by section 4 of the Thirteenth Amendment Act, 1997:

(b) a situation has arisen in which the Government of the Province cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and an appeal to the electorate is necessary.

113.

A person shall not be qualified to be elected member of a Provincial Assembly unless :-

(a) he is a citizen of Pakistan;

(b) he is not less than twenty-five years of age;

(c) he is enrolled as a voter in any electoral roll for election to the Assembly; and

(d) he possesses such other qualifications as may be prescribed by Act of Parliament."

"116.

(1) When a Bill has been passed by the Provincial Assembly, it shall be presented to the Governor for assent;

(2) The Governor shall assent to a Bill within seven days after it has been presented to him for assent, and if the Governor fails to do so he shall be deemed to have assented to the Bill at the expiration of the said period.

(3) When the Governor has assented or is deemed to have assented to a Bill, it shall become law and be called an Act of the Provincial Assembly.

(4)No Act of a Provincial Assembly, and no provision in any such Act, shall be invalid by reason only that some recommendation, previous sanction or consent required by the Constitution was not given if that Act was assented to or deemed to have been assented to in accordance with the Constitution."

"(3) When the Governor has returned a Bill to the Provincial Assembly, if it is again passed with or without amendment, by the Provincial Assembly, by the votes of the majority of the total membership of the Provincial Assembly, it shall be again presented to the Governor and the Governor shall assent thereto."

(Ed. Note: The text of the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2020 (Article 38 (ii)) assumes that the phrase it is replacing has the word "his" between 'withhold' and 'assent', whereas the text of the Constitution (Eighth Amendment) Act, 1985, section 15(b), which first introduced this clause, does not have the word 'his' in that place. If you have evidence that this is incorrect, please let us know.)

Provided that, for a period of ten years from the commencing day or the holding of the second general election to the Provincial Assembly, whichever occurs later, a demand shall be deemed to have been assented to unless, by the votes of a majority of the total membership of the Assembly, it is refused or assented to subject to a reduction of the amount specified therein.