The draft has proposed to authorize the head of state to dissolve the federal House of Representatives and fix a date for the next election within six months if the leader of the largest political party heads a minority government and fails to secure a vote of confidence in the House within a month of becoming prime minister.
Upon formation of the new government after the election of the federal parliament, there are three possibilities.
First, the president appoints the parliamentary party leader of the political party that commands a majority in the House as the prime minister.
If no political party has a majority in the House, the president shall appoint a leader of any political party that leads a coalition of two or more parties that together command a majority in the federal House.
If no prime minister is elected on the basis of any of the aforementioned possibilities, the president shall elect the parliamentary party leader of the largest political party as prime minister. The newly-elected head of government, however, must secure a vote of confidence in the House within a month of his/her election to the post.
Article 79 of the draft constitution states that if the newly-elected prime minister fails to secure a vote of confidence, the president shall dissolve the federal House and announce a date within six months for the next election.
The Interim Constitution has no role for the president in the selection of the prime minister.
"The proposed provision appears to be exactly same as the system adopted by the 1990 constitution," said constitutional expert Bhimarjun Acharya.
He said the role given to the king by the 1990 constitution is now proposed for the president under the new constitution.
CPN-UML Chief Whip Agni Kharel argued that the objective of this provision is to pevent a prime minister of a minority government from ruling the country for a long time. "Without such a condition any leader of a minority government may continue to rule the country without holding any new election," Kharel told Republica. "In such a situation, allowing the president to dissolve the House and fix the next election date is deemed appropriate."
As per the proposed provisions, the president can also appoint the governors of all the provinces, and the head of state doesn't need to secure any recommendations from the central government for that purpose.
"The president can appoint the governor in each province," states Article 161 (2) without any proviso.
Acharya said such a stark provision might help the head of state become arbitrary in the appointment of the governors.
Kharel, for his part, said the president must seek the consent of the federal cabinet as Article 70 (2) makes it mandatory for the head of state to seek the recommendations of the government for each of his decisions.
The governor plays a crucial role and exercises authority in forming the provincial government and running the administration of that province.
The governor appoints the leader of the largest political party as chief minister of the province if no political party commands a majority in the assembly.
The president can be removed from his post if an impeachment motion is endorsed by two-thirds of the members of both federal Houses.
A person doesn't have to be a member of parliament to become a minister in the government. However, a provision in the new constitution disqualifies anyone from becoming minister if he or she has been defeated in the general election.
Article 95 has made it mandatory for either the speaker or deputy speaker of the federal House to be a woman and the occupants of the two posts should be from two different political parties. Similarly, either the chairperson or vice-chair of the National Assembly must be a woman and the two must be from different political parties.
Three tiers of governance structure are proposed, namely federal, provincial and local. At the local levels there shall be district, municipal and village assemblies.
The village and municipal assemblies shall exercise legislative powers as per the constitution while the district body is mandated to largely play a coordinating role between the local and provincial authorities.
The village-level authorities can issue citizenship certificates, passports, land and house ownership certificates and other official documents. Similarly, they will oversee the primary and secondary education system, FM stations and local markets and collect royalties from local natural resources.
Related story
Public Hearing Committee completes hearing on three proposed ju...
