79.- 1. There shall (except at times when there are no members of the House who do not support the Government) be a Leader of the Opposition who shall be appointed by the Governor-General.

2. Whenever there is occasion for the appointment of a Leader of the Opposition the Governor-General shall appoint the member of the House who appears to him most likely to command the support of a majority of the members of the House who do not support the Government; or, if no member of the House appears to him to command such support, the member of the House who appears to him to command the support of the largest single group of members of the House who do not support the Government:

provided that-

a. if there are two or more members of the House who do not support the Government but none of them commands the support of the other or others, the Governor-General may, acting in his discretion, appoint any one of them as Leader of the Opposition, and

b. in the exercise of his discretion the Governor-General shall be guided by the seniority of each based on his length of service as a member of the House, by the number of votes cast in favour of each at the last election of members of the House or by both such seniority and such number of votes.

3. If the occasion arises to appoint a Leader of the Opposition during the period between a dissolution of Parliament and the day on which the ensuing election of members of the House is held, an appointment may be made as if Parliament had not been dissolved.

4. The office of Leader of the Opposition shall become vacant-

a. if he ceases to be a member of the House otherwise than by reason of a dissolution of Parliament;

b. if, when the House first meets after a dissolution of Parliament, he is not then a member of the House;

c. if, under the provisions of section 41(2) of this Constitution, he is required to cease to perform his functions as a member of the House; or

d. if he is removed from office by the Governor-General under the provisions of subsection (5) of this section.

5. If it appears to the Governor-General that the Leader of the Opposition is no longer able to command the support of a majority of the members of the House who do not support the Government or the support of the largest single group of members of the House who do not support the Government, he shall remove the Leader of the Opposition from office.

6. The powers of the Governor-General under this section shall be exercised by him in his discretion.

7. Where the office of Leader of the Opposition is vacant, whether because there is no member of the House so qualified for appointment or because the Leader of the Opposition has resigned his office or for any other reason, any provision in this Constitution requiring consultation with or the advice of the Leader of the Opposition shall, in so far as it requires such consultation or advice, be of no effect.