Article 6 Amendment of section 24 of the Constitution

Section 24 of the Constitution (appointment of Ministers) is amended by inserting after subsection (1) the following new subsections—

“(1A)

If the Premier dies while in office, the Governor, acting in his or her discretion, shall appoint as the Premier the elected member of the Assembly who, in his or her judgement, is likely to command the support of a majority of the elected members of the Assembly.

(1B)

Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Governor shall not appoint as Premier a person who has held office as Premier or Chief Minister during two consecutive parliamentary terms unless at least one parliamentary term has expired since he or she last held that office, and for the purposes of this subsection a parliamentary term shall be deemed to be a period commencing when the House of Assembly first meets after its dissolution at any time and terminating when the Assembly is next dissolved.”.