Parliament on Sunday endorsed the Bill to amend the Act related to Political Parties-2017 in a bid to pave the way for the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJP-N) to get the electoral symbol for local elections, the second phase of which is scheduled for June 28. 

The RJP-N, which has been in negotiations with the government over its demands, has also repeatedly raised the issue of electoral symbol, as the party came into being on April 21 after the merger of six Madhes-based parties. 

The process to approve the Bill on Sunday was hastened in view of the limited time the ruling parties and the RJP-N have for reaching a compromise on the agitating party’s concerns. The  government on Sunday registered the Bill immediately after a Cabinet meeting decided to amend the Act related to Political Parties.

Minister for Home Affairs then presented the Bill before the House which approved it by majority. 

Some provisions of the Parliamentary Regulations were suspended to complete the process on Sunday itself.

The Bill sought to amend Clause 10 (7) of the Act Related to Political Parties-2017, which prevented the unified party from using the flags, electoral symbols and names of the constituent parties for one year from the date of the announcement of unification. 

The amendment now says the unified party can use the flag, electoral symbols or names of the constituent parties, provided that the party is officially registered. The new provision is applicable to only those parties which had recently united to become one. It, however, does not allow the party to use more than two electoral symbols in one district. To make it easier for the RJP-N to get official recognition from the Election Commission, the Local Level Election Act-2017 was also amended on Thursday.