The Interim Election Council on Thursday had announced November 19 as the date for Constituent Assembly (CA) polls and had decided to form the commission under former justice Tahir Ali Ansari. [break]
Geographer Netra Dhital, sociologist Dambar Chemjong and administrator Madhu Nidhi Tiwari are the members of the commission, while Secretary at the Office of Prime Minister and Council of Minister Raju Man Singh Malla is member secretary of the commission.
According to sources, handover of appointment letters has been delayed as Ansari is currently busy as the coordinator of the probe commission formed to investigate the murder of former Lawmaker Sadrul Miyan Haque. The government on May 23 had formed a three-member probe commission to investigate Haque´s murder. The commission has been given a month to submit its report.
“CDC members would have begun their work, had the appointment letters been given to them,” the source said, adding, “It will take three to four days to hand over the appointment letters.”
However, Malla said that they have finalized the appointment letters on Wednesday. “We prepared the appointment letters today (Wednesday) and the members will come tomorrow (Thursday) to receive it,” he added.
When Republica tried to verify if the members were informed about the development, a member on condition of anonymity said, “I have not received any information about it.”
Talking to Republica, Ansari said they will begin their work in CDC in the next two to four days. “The investigation [into Haque´s murder] is about to complete. We will begin the works on constituency delineation in two to four days,” he stated.
The chief justice administers oath of office and secrecy to the coordinator of CDC while other members would be sworn in by the coordinator in presence of the chief justice.
The CDC has been given one month to submit its report. The commission is entrusted with reviewing the existing 240 election constituencies in accordance with the latest census report.
Though, the government has given the CDC one month to submit its report, then CDC had been given two-and-a-half months to finalize the report. “First it took one-and-a-half months to prepare the report,” said a former member of the commission seeking anonymity, “The commission was given an additional one month following dispute over the report.”
According to Article 154 A of the Interim Constitution, the government may constitute a Constituency Delimitation Commission to determine election constituencies for the purpose of electing of members of the Constituent Assembly, and the commission shall consist of a retired justice of the SC as chairperson, a geographer, a sociologist and an administrator or management expert as members and a special class officer in the service of the government as member-secretary.
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