This is the fourth time parliament renewed the CA term, which was originally given two-year tenure for writing the new constitution.[break]
The government bill to amend the constitution allowing CA term extension was endorsed by an overwhelming majority in the 601-seat parliament. Of the 508 lawmakers were present during the voting, all the lawmakers, except three from the Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal (RPP-N), voted in favor of the proposal to give the CA a new lease of life. At present, membership of 596 lawmakers is active.
All the lawmakers except those from the RPP-N voted in favor of the term extension as they had already reached an agreement to this effect. A meeting of the top leaders from the major political parties held at Singha Durbar earlier in the day had struck a six-point agreement with regard to addressing the issue of CA term extension, the peace process and other knotty issues.
Though the matter of CA term extension had been made a matter of heated debates in the past, it was not the case this time as the Supreme Court recently issued a verdict in favor of one more final extension.
CPN-UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal and UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal had to step down from the prime ministerial post during their respective tenures as the erstwhile opposition parties would vote for extension only if they resigned to pave the way for a new government.
The CA tenure has been extended once for a year and twice for three months each in the past. Interim constitution underwent amendment by two-thirds majority of parliament for each extension of the CA tenure.
Latecomers miss CA vote
A group of lawmakers, including senior leaders, were deprived of voting for CA term extension on Tuesday as they reached the parliament building after the doors of the meeting hall had already been closed.
Former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, ministers Lokendra Bista, Anil Jha, Minister for Youth and Sports Kamala Roka, NC lawmakers Gagan Thapa and Shovakar Parajuli and other lawmakers Usha Kala Rai, Arbind Sah, Hemraj Bhandari and Kunti Shahi, among others, remained outside the parliament hall while the voting was under way.
Shahi said she hurriedly rushed to parliament from her party´s mass gathering but failed to reach the parliament hall in time.
"We were taken aback to find that the House meeting had begun on time," Rai told Republica.
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