New constitution certified

537 lawmakers sign on the new constitution copies

KATHMANDU, Sept 18: Constituent Assembly (CA) Chairman Subas Nembang certified the new constitution after 537 lawmakers signed on five copies of the new constitution amidst a function at the CA building on Friday.

The new constitution bill was endorsed by an overwhelming majority of the CA full House on Wednesday.

The separate five copies will be kept at the CA secretariat, the office of the president, prime minister's office, the ministry of law and parliamentary affairs and at the National Archives for the record.

The new constitution will come into effect once President Ram Baran Yadav unveils it on Sunday evening.

The CA chairman signed on the copies and displayed it amidst the crowd at the hall jam-packed with lawmakers and others. While he was displaying the copies, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli, UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal and former Prime Ministers Sher Bahadur Deuba, Madhav Kumar Nepal and Jhalanath Khanal, among other top leaders, shared the podium. The leaders and other lawmakers present at the hall cheered and clapped for long.

However, former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, who is head of the CA's Constitutional Political Dialogue and Consensus Committee (CPDCC), didn't share the podium as he left the hall immediately after signing on the copies.

Though only 532 CA members had participated in the final vote division on the constitution bill on Wednesday, the number of lawmakers signing on the copy increased to 537.

In the voting, 507 lawmakers had voted in favor of the bill while 25 from the Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal (RPP-N) voted against it.

According to sources at the parliament secretariat, some of those who had remained absent in voting on Wednesday but appeared at CA building to sign on the copies. They include Bishwendra Paswan, Rajya Laxmi Golchha, Laxman Rajbanshi and Meghraj Nishadh Nepali.

The voting that started at 9 am was closed at 3 pm and Nembang subsequently signed on it and displayed it there.

The lawmakers, who gathered there for signing ceremony, were in quite cheerful mood and everyone was busy in taking their individual and group pictures. Each and every senior leader was encircled by lawmakers to have an opportunity to take picture with them.

After that the secretariat arranged group photo sessions with CA chairman and other top leaders. But CPDCC Chair Bhattarai was missing everywhere.

PHOTOS: DIPESH SHRESTHA/REPUBLICA