Federal Parliament 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 as the upper house and the House of Representatives as the lower house.

Federal Parliament of Nepal संघीय संसद, नेपाल
Type
Type	Bicameral
Houses	National Assembly (upper house) House of Representatives (lower house)
History
Founded	5 March 2018
Preceded by	Constituent Assembly of Nepal
Leadership
President	Bidhya Devi Bhandari since 29 October 2015
Vice President	Nanda Kishor Pun since 31 October 2015
Chairman of the National Assembly	Ganesh Prasad Timilsina since 15 March 2018
Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly	Shashikala Dahal since 19 March 2018
Speaker of the House of Representatives	Agni Prasad Sapkota[1] since 26 January 2020
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives	vacant since 20 January 2020
Leader of the House of Representatives	Khadga Prasad Oli, NCP since 4 March 2018
Structure
Seats	334 59 assemblymen 275 representatives
House of Representatives political groups	Government (174)   NCP: 174 Opposition (101)   NC : 63   PSPN : 34   Independent : 4
National Assembly political groups	Government (50)   NCP: 50 Opposition (9)   NC: 6   PSPN : 3
House of Representatives committees	10
National Assembly committees	4
Joint committees	2
Elections
House of Representatives voting system	First-past-the-post & proportional representation
National Assembly voting system	Single transferable vote
House of Representatives last election	26 November and 7 December 2017
National Assembly last election	23 January 2020
Meeting place
International Convention Centre, Kathmandu, Nepal
Website
www.parliament.gov.np
Constitution
Constitution of Nepal

History

Legislatures of Kingdom of Nepal

The former Parliament of Nepal was dissolved by King Gyanendra in 2002, 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 January 15, 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. 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.

Legislature Parliament of Nepal

The second Nepalese Constituent Assembly was converted into a legislative parliament of Nepal after the promulgation of the constitution on September 20, 2015.[4] 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).[5]

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.[6]

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 and the supreme leader of the country. 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 Bidhya Devi Bhandari, elected in October 2015. She is the first female Nepali head of state. The President is to be formally addressed as "The Right Honourable" (सम्माननीय, Sam'mānanīya).[7]

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 common.[8]

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

Both

• 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.[9] 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.[10]

See also

• Politics of Nepal
• List of legislatures by country

References

1. "Elected Speaker". Nepal Republic Media. Kathmandu, Nepal. 26 January 2020. Archived from the original on 16 March 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
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 elects first woman speaker of parliament - Times of India".
5. "संविधानसभा प्रथम". parliament.gov.np. Archived from the original on 13 December 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
6. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 December 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
7. "President of Nepal", Wikipedia, 29 December 2019, retrieved 19 January 2020
8. "All parliamentary committees in place". The Kathmandu Post. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
9. "CPN-UML leader Tumbahamphe elected to Deputy Speaker of HoR". 16 March 2018.
10. "New building for federal parliament to cost Rs5 billion rupees". The Kathmandu Post. Retrieved 14 June 2020.

External links

• Official website
• National Assembly Nepal Website
• House of Representative Nepal Website