Federal Parliament of Nepal

संघीय संसद, नेपाल
2nd Federal Parliament
Emblem of Nepal
Type
Type
HousesNational Assembly
(upper house)
House of Representatives
(lower house)
History
Founded5 March 2018 (2018-03-05)
Preceded byConstituent Assembly of Nepal
Leadership
Ram Sahaya Yadav
since 20 March 2023
Chairman of the
National Assembly
Ganesh Prasad Timilsina, CPN (UML)
since 15 March 2018
Deputy Chairman of the
National Assembly
Urmila Aryal, CPN (MC)
since 6 February 2023
Dev Raj Ghimire, CPN (UML)
since 19 January 2023
Deputy Speaker of the
House of Representatives
Indira Ranamagar, RSP
since 21 January 2023
Pushpa Kamal Dahal, CPN (MC)
since 26 December 2022
Leader of the Opposition
KP Sharma Oli, CPN (UML)
since 27 February 2023
Structure
Seats334 parliamentarians
59 assemblymen
275 representatives
National Assembly political groups
Government (38)
  •   CPN (MC) (16)[lower-alpha 1]
  •   NC (10)
  •   CPN (US) (8)
  •   PSPN (3)
  •   LSPN (1)

Confidence & supply (3)

Opposition (18)

House of Representatives political groups
Government (156)

Confidence & supply (4)

Opposition (114)

Vacant (1)
Elections
Single transferable vote & First-past-the-post
First-past-the-post & proportional representation
Last National Assembly election
26 January 2022
20 November 2022
Next National Assembly election
2024
by November 2027
Meeting place
International Convention Centre,
Kathmandu, Nepal
Website
www.parliament.gov.np
Constitution
Constitution of Nepal

The Federal Parliament of Nepal (संघीय संसद नेपाल, Saṅghīya Sansada Nēpāla) is the bicameral federal and supreme legislature of Nepal established in 2018. It consists of the National Assembly and the House of Representatives as parallel houses.

History

Legislatures of Kingdom of Nepal

The former Parliament of Nepal was dissolved by King Gyanendra in 2002,[1] on the grounds that it was incapable of handling the Maoist rebels. The country's five main political parties had staged protests against the king, arguing that he must either call fresh elections or reinstate the elected legislature. In 2004, the king announced that parliamentary elections would be held within twelve months; in April 2006, in response to major pro-democratic protests, it was announced that Parliament would be reestablished.[2]

Interim Legislature of Nepal

After the success of the April 2006 people's movement, on 15 January 2007, the old parliament was dissolved and replaced by a 330-member interim legislature of Nepal.[3] The legislature drafted an interim constitution and a constituent assembly election was held in April 2008. The 601-member assembly on 28 May 2008 abolished the 238-year-old monarchy and declared the country a republic.[4] The constituent assembly, which was initially given two years to draft a new constitution, was dissolved on 27 May 2012 after its failure to draft a new constitution due to differences over restructuring the state.[5]

Legislature Parliament of Nepal

The second Nepalese Constituent Assembly was converted into a legislative parliament of Nepal after the promulgation of the constitution on 20 September 2015.[6] The second Nepalese Constituent Assembly was formed after the failure of the first Constituent Assembly to draft a new constitution. The Legislature Parliament of Nepal was dissolved on 21 January 2018 (7 Magh 2074 BS).[7]

Composition

According to the Constitution of Nepal 2015, Nepal has a two-chamber parliament (संसद), consisting of the House of Representatives and the National Assembly, with the President of Nepal acting as their head.[8]

President of Nepal

The President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal (नेपालको राष्ट्रपति, Nēpālakō rāṣṭrapati) is the head of state of Nepal and commander in chief of the Nepalese Armed Forces. The office was created in May 2008 after the country was declared as a republic. The first President of Nepal was Ram Baran Yadav. The current president is Ram Chandra Poudel. He is the third president of the country.

House of Representatives

The House of Representatives (प्रतिनिधि सभा, Pratinidhi Sabha) has 275 members. 165 members are elected from single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting and 110 elected through proportional electoral system where voters vote for political parties, considering the whole country as a single election constituency. The members of the house hold their seats for five years or until the body is dissolved by the President on the advice of the council of ministers.

National Assembly

The National Assembly (राष्ट्रिय सभा, Rastriya Sabha) has 59 members. Eight members are elected from each of the seven provinces by an electoral college of each province, and three are appointed by the President on recommendation of the government. They must include at least three women, one Dalit, and one member from disabled groups. Members serve staggered six year terms such that the term of one-third members expires every two years.

Parliamentary committees

There are 16 thematic committees in the federal parliament: ten in the House of Representatives, four in the National Assembly and two joint committees.[9]

House of Representatives

  • Finance
  • International Relations
  • Industry, Commerce, Labour and Consumer Interest
  • Law, Justice, and Human Rights
  • Agriculture, Cooperative and Natural Resources
  • Women and Social
  • State Affairs
  • Development and Technology
  • Education and Health
  • Public Account

National Assembly

  • Sustainable Development and Good Governance
  • Legislative Management
  • Delegated Legislation and Government Assurances
  • National Interest and coordination among members

Joint

  • Parliamentary Hearing
  • State Direction, Principle Rules and Responsibility

Women's representation

The constitution of Nepal guarantees a 33% reservation for women in all public offices including the federal parliament. On 16 March 2018, Dr. Shiva Maya Tumbahamphe was elected as the deputy speaker of the house.[10] Women's representation in the parliament has increased since the Constituent Assembly, which eventually guaranteed provisions for women's representation on the constitution.[2]

Parliament House

Both houses of the federal parliament currently meet at the International Convention Centre in New Baneshwor, Kathmandu.

A new parliament building is being constructed in the premises of the Singha Durbar complex, which houses most government offices.[11]

See also

Explanatory notes

  1. 1 2 3 Including 1 nominated member
  2. 1 2 The Nepal Socialist Party jointly registered with CPN (Maoist Centre) for the 2022 election, and all its MPs are part of the parliamentary party of CPN (MC).

References

  1. ↑ "Nepal: King ends direct rule, reinstates parliament". reliefweb. 25 April 2006.
  2. 1 2 "Nepal's Political Development: Nepal Constituent Assembly Portal". Nepalcaportal.org. Archived from the original on 3 August 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
  3. ↑ Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. "Refworld | Freedom in the World 2008 – Nepal". Refworld. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  4. ↑ "Nepal abolishes monarchy, declares republic". ABC news. 28 May 2008.
  5. ↑ "Legislature in Nepal Disbands in Failure". The New York Times. 27 May 2012.
  6. ↑ "Nepal elects first woman speaker of parliament – Times of India". The Times of India. 16 October 2015.
  7. ↑ "संविधानसभा प्रथम". parliament.gov.np. Archived from the original on 13 December 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  8. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 December 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ↑ "All parliamentary committees in place". The Kathmandu Post. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  10. ↑ "CPN-UML leader Tumbahamphe elected to Deputy Speaker of HoR". 16 March 2018.
  11. ↑ "New building for federal parliament to cost Rs5 billion rupees". The Kathmandu Post. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
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