Valley
Preps for parliament meet
With the appointment of the new prime minister, preparations have begun to convene the first meeting of the federal parliament in about two weeks.With the appointment of the new prime minister, preparations have begun to convene the first meeting of the federal parliament in about two weeks.
The Parliament Secretariat has already prepared the meeting halls for both the House of Representatives (HoR) and the National Assembly and is waiting for the meetings to be scheduled.
According to Article 93 of the Constitution of Nepal, the federal parliament convenes within 30 days of final publication of election results. With the Election Commission having made the final results public on Wednesday, meetings of the two houses have to be held before mid-March. The sittings are likely to be scheduled for sometime within the next two weeks.
“The President will announce the dates once the government recommends them. As the government is already in place, it shouldn’t take long,” said Kul Prasad Chudal, spokesperson for the President’s Office. He, however, said that the National Assembly needs to be complete before it can meet. The Sher Bahadur Deuba government recommended three names for appointment as Upper House members but President Bidya Devi Bhandari has yet to endorse them.
The first important business at the HoR will be tabling a motion of confidence in Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who has the backing of the CPN (Maoist Centre). The House will then elect the Speaker and deputy Speaker while the Assembly picks its chair and vice-chair within 15 days of the first meeting.
The International Convention Centre in New Baneshwor will host the federal parliament for the next five years. The NA has been elected for the first time since 1999. Nepal had a unicameral legislature since the Constituent Assembly was elected in 2008. The CA, primarily tasked with writing the constitution, doubled as the Legislature-Parliament.