The Constitution of Pakistan, 1973 Developed by Zain Sheikh

¹[106. Constitution of Provincial Assemblies.-(l) Each Provincial Assembly shall consist of general seats and seats reserved for women and non-Muslims as specified herein below.—

                                    General           Women            Non-                Total

                                        Seats                                   Muslims

Balochistan                 51                         11                 3                          65

²[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 115               26                 4                        145]

Punjab                      297                         66                 8                        371

Sindh                        130                         29                 9                        168

³[(1A) The seats for the Province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, referred to in clause (1), include sixteen general seats, four seats for the women and one seat for non-Muslims in respect of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas :

Provided that elections to the aforesaid seats shall be held within one year after the general elections, 2018.

(1B) After elections to seats referred to in clause (1A), both clause (!A) and this clause shall stand omitted.]

(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 for any area in the Province; and

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

(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:

                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.]

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1. Section 36 of the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010 (10 of 2010), substituted Art. 106, in its present form, (w.e.f. April 19, 2010), in place of Art. 106 as amended upto 2003 by the Constitution (Seventeenth Amendment), Act, 2003. The Art. 106 as substituted shall be deemed always to have been so substituted with effect from the 21^st day of August, 2002.  Art. 106, as amended upto 2003 by the Constitution (Seventeenth Amendment) Act, 2003 (3 of 2003) (w.e.f. December 31, 2003, that read :

   106. Constitution of Provincial Assemblies.—^A[(1) Each Provincial Assembly shall consist of general seats and seats reserved for women and non-Muslims as specified herein below:–

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

(a)  he is a citizen of Pakistan ;

(b)  he is not less than ^B[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 ^C[.]

^C[proviso] Omitted.

^D[(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:]

^E[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.]

^F[(4)] Omitted.

^G[(5)] Omitted.

 ^H[(6)] Omitted.

A. Section 10 of the Constitution (Seventeenth Amendment) Act, 2003 (3 of 2003), (now repealed), validated the substitution of clause (1) of Art. 106, (w.e.f. December 31, 2003).  Item 14 of the schedule to LFO (C.E.O. No. 24 of 2002), substituted the said clause (1) of Art. 106, in the form set out in note “A” to footnote 1, (w.e.f. August 21, 2002), in place of clause (1) as adopted in 1973, that read :

“ (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 :

              Balochistan                                                                                             40

The North-West Frontier Province                                                    80

The Punjab                                                                                             240

Sindh                                                                                                      100 ”

B. Section 10 of the Constitution (Seventeenth Amendment) Act, 2003 (3 of 2003), (now repealed) also validated the substitution of the word in paragraph (b) of clause (2) of Art. 106, (w.e.f. December 31, 2003). Item 14 of the schedule to LFO (C.E.O. No. 24 of 2002) substituted the said word in place of the word “twenty-one” in paragraph (b) of clause (2) of Art. 106, (w.e.f. August 21, 2002).  Item 24 of the schedule to RCO (P.O. No. 14 of 1985), had substituted the words “twenty-one” in place of the word “eighteen”, as adopted in 1973, (w.e.f. March 2, 1985).

C. Item 24 of the schedule to RCO (P.O. No. 14 of 1985), substituted the full stop, in place of the colon at the end of paragraph (d) of clause (2) of Art. 106 and omitted the proviso thereto, (w.e.f. March 2, 1985). The deleted proviso read :

“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” therein the word “twenty-one” were substituted”.

D. Section 10 of the Constitution (Seventeenth Amendment) Act, 2003 (3 of 2003), (now repealed), validated the substitution of clause (3) of Art. 106, (w.e.f. December 31, 2003). Item 14 of the schedule to LFO (C.E.O. No. 24 of 2002) substituted the said clause (3) of Art. 106, in the form set out in note “D” to footnote 1, (w.e.f. August 21, 2002).  Item 24 of the schedule to RCO (P.O. No. 14 of 1985), had substituted clause (3) of Art. 106, (w.e.f. March 2, 1985), in place of the clause, as adopted in 1973.  The said clause, with respect to non-muslim seats, as first substituted by RCO (P.O. No. 14 of 1985) and deleted by substitution, read :

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

Province         Christians      Hindus and persons      Sikh, Budhist        Persons belonging

belonging to the        and      Parsi         to    the    Quadiani                                                   scheduled castes             communities            group       or      the

and other non-           Lahori group (who

Muslims                    call      themselves

Ahmadis)

Balochistan            1                       1                                     1                              —

The North-West     1                       —                                    1                              1

Frontier Province

The Punjab             5                       1                                     1                              1

Sindh                      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. “

Clause (3) of Art. 106 as adopted in 1973, read :

“ (3) In addition to the seats in the Provincial Assemblies for the Provinces of Balochistan, the Punjab, the North-West Frontier and Sindh 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, Budhist and Parsi communities *a[and persons of the Quadiani group or the Lahori group (who call themselves ‘Ahmadi’)] *b[and other non-Muslims and persons belonging to] the Scheduled Castes :

Balochistan                                                                            1

The North-West Frontier Province                                      1

The Punjab                                                                         *c[5]

Sindh                                                                                      2 “

*a.  Section 2 of the Constitution (Second Amendment) act, 1974 (49 of 1974), added the said words and brackets, in clause (3) of Art. 106, as adopted in 1973, (w.e.f. September 17, 1974).

*b.  Section 7 of the Constitution (Fourth Amendment) Act, 1975 (71 of 1975), substituted the said words and brackets in place of the word “or” in clause (3) of Art. 106, as adopted in 1973, (w.e.f. November 21, 1975).

*c.   Section 7 of the Constitution (Fourth Amendment) Act, 1975 (71 of 1975), substituted the said numeral for the numeral 3, in clause (3) of Art. 106, as adopted in 1973, (w.e.f. November 21, 1975).

E. Section 10 of the Constitution (Seventeenth Amendment) Act, 2003 (3 of 2003),  (now repealed), validated the substitution of the proviso to sub clause (c) of clause (3) of Art. 106, (w.e.f. December 31, 2003).  Art. 2(3) of the Legal Framework (Amendment) Order, 2002, C.E.O. No. 29 of 2002, substituted the said proviso to sub clause (c) of clause (3) of Art. 106, (w.e.f. October 9, 2002), in place of the proviso as inserted by item 14 of the schedule to LFO (C.E.O. No. 24 of 2002).  The proviso deleted by substitution, read :

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.

F. Section 10 of the Constitution (Seventeenth Amendment) Act, 2003 (3 of 2003), (now repealed), validated the omission of clause (4) of Art. 106, (w.e.f. December 31, 2003).  Item 14 of the schedule to LFO (C.E.O. No. 24 of 2002), omitted clause (4) of Art. 106, adopted in 1973, (w.e.f. August 21, 2002).  The said clause as adopted in 1973, read :

                “ (4) Until the expiration of a period of ten years from the commencing day or the holding of the a*[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). 

a*.  Section 13 of the Constitution (Eight Amendment Act, 1985 (18 of 1985), substituted the said word, in place of the word “second”, in clause (4) of Art. 106 as adopted in 1973, (w.e.f. November 11, 1985).

G. Section 10 of the Constitution (Seventeenth Amendment) Act, 2003 (3 of 2003), (now repealed), validated the omission of clause (5) of Art. 106, (w.e.f. December 31, 2003).  Item 14 of the schedule to LFO (C.E.O. No. 24 of 2002), also omitted clause (5) of Art. 106, (w.e.f August 21, 2002).  Item 24 of the schedule to RCO (P.O. No. 14 of 1985) had substituted clause (5) of Art. 106, (w.e.f. March 2, 1985), in place of the clause as adopted in 1973.  The deleted clause read :

(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.

Clause (5) of Art. 106 as adopted in 1973, read :

 “(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) or for women shall be elected in accordance with law by the members of that Assembly referred to in clause (1).”

H. Section 10 of the Constitution (Seventeenth Amendment) Act, 2003 (3 of 2003), (now repealed), validated the omission of clause (6) of Art. 106, (w.e.f. December 31, 2003). Item 14 of the schedule to LFO (C.E.O. No. 24 of 2002), further omitted clause (6) of Art. 106, (w.e.f. August 21, 2002). Item 24 of the schedule to RCO (P.O. No. 14 of 1985), inserted clause (6) of Art. 106, (w.e.f. March 2, 1985). The deleted clause read :

(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 the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote by the electoral college consisting of the persons elected to that Assembly.

2. Section 6(i) of the Constitution (Twenty-fifth Amendment) Act, 2018 (XXXVII of 2018), substituted the said expression “Khyber Pakhtunkhwa” and the entries relating thereto, in place of the expression “Khyber Pakhtunkhwa” and the entries relating thereto in the second, third, fourth and fifth columns, in the Table, in clause (1) of Art. 106, (w.e.f. June 4, 2018).

3. Section 6(ii) of the Constitution (Twenty-fifth Amendment) Act, 2018 (XXXVII of 2018), inserted new clauses (1A) and (1B), in their present form, after clause (1) of Art. 106, (w.e.f. June 4, 2018).