Prime Minister

(1) There shall be a Prime Minister of Belize who shall be appointed by the Governor-General. (2) Whenever the Governor-General has occasion to appoint a Prime Minister he shall appoint a member of the House of Representatives who is the leader of the political party which commands the support of the majority of the members of that House; and if no political party has an overall majority, he shall appoint a member of that House who appears to him likely to command the support of the majority of the members of that House, Provided that no person shall be appointed as a Prime Minister who has previously held the office of the Prime Minister for three parliamentary terms, either consecutively or in aggregate; and for this purpose, the “parliamentary term” shall mean the period commencing on the date of the first sitting of the National Assembly after a general election and expiring at the date of the next ensuing dissolution of the National Assembly. (3) If occasion arises for making an appointment to the office of Prime Minister while the National Assembly is dissolved, then, notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, a person who was a member of the House of Representatives immediately before the dissolution may be appointed as Prime Minister. (4) The Governor-General shall remove the Prime Minister from office if a resolution of no confidence in the Government is passed by the House of Representatives and the Prime Minister does not within seven days either resign from his office or advise the Governor-General to dissolve the National (5) The office of Prime Minister shall also become vacant, (a) if the holder of the office ceases to be a member of the House of Representatives 52 otherwise than by reason of the dissolution of the National Assembly; (b) if, by virtue of section 59(3) of this Constitution, he is required to cease to perform his functions as a member of the House; or (c) if he is informed by the Governor-General that the Governor-General is, in accordance with subsection (2) or (3) of this section, about to reappoint him as Prime Minister or to appoint another person as Prime Minister. (6) In exercise of the powers conferred on him by this section, the Governor-General shall act in his own deliberate judgment.