Former Constituent Assembly chairman and CPN-UML leader Subas Nembang has claimed that forming the National Assembly prior to the House of Representatives would rather decrease women’s representation in the federal parliament.

Nembang’s statement comes at a time when the government and the Election Commission argue that the upper house is essential for announcing the results of the House of Representatives so as to ensure 33 percent representation of women in the federal parliament.

“Mind it, forming the National Assembly (NA) before finalising the Proportional Representation seats of the House will reduce the PR seats of women instead,” said Nembang, addressing an interaction organised by Sanchar Kendra Nepal in the Capital.

He claimed that the stance of holding the NA polls to ascertain women’s share in the lower house was a ploy to decrease women’s representation in the federal parliament.

The former speaker claimed that at least 37 percent women would be represented in the NA as provisioned by the constitution. Therefore, the parties could send less than 33 percent women to the lower house arguing that the NA will already have a 4 percent surplus representation of women.

The spirit of the constitution is to ensure representation of women in at least one third seats in the federal parliament but the government and the EC are interpreting the constitution in a way to further shrink their participation.

“Many female leaders who are listed to be elected members of parliament could be replaced by men as the NA will represent four percent more women than required,” said Nembang, urging the EC not to lock HoR election results.

People are free to interpret constitutional provisions as they wish but it is the spirit of the statute that needs to be considered, he said.

On the planned unification of the two leftist parties, Nembang said merger was the only way further for the UML and the CPN (Maoist centre) as shown by the popular mandate.

“For almost three months, cadres and leaders of the two parties have worked as a team. In the same spirit, leaders of both the parties are discussing merger,” he said.

Stating that the democratic practice elsewhere is to clear the way for a new government as soon as the poll results are out, Nembang said the EC was sitting on the poll results.