Sources familiar with the development said the government is preparing to make the much-awaited appointments before the Election Commission (EC) enforces election code of conduct 120 days prior to the election scheduled for November 19. “The appointments will be made soon,” said a highly-placed source. “The government is doing the homework in this regard quietly.” [break]
Minister for Foreign Affairs Madhav Ghimire on Sunday directed the taskforce formed last month to set the criteria for appointments of ambassadors at the earliest. The government will make appointments of envoys once the taskforce submits its report within the next few days.
Spokesperson at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) Arjun Bahadur Thapa confirmed the development. “Foreign minister has asked me to submit the report at the earliest,” said Thapa, who heads the taskforce. “We have received suggestions from almost all our missions abroad. As we have already prepared a draft, we will soon submit the final report.”
With the term of Nepal´s ambassador to Germany Suresh Pradhan expiring in the third week of July, the number of Nepali missions without ambassadors has reached six. Nepal also needs to name its candidate for SAARC Secretary General within the next one month as it is Nepal´s turn to head the regional body.
The government´s move comes in the wake of criticisms from various quarters that the failure of the government to appoint ambassadors in key countries has eroded the country´s image in the international arena. But as some Nepali ambassadors appointed under political quota have been courting serious controversies, Foreign Minister Ghimire had formed a taskforce to set minimum criteria for eligibility for the post .
Earlier, the government had put aside the agenda of making the long-awaited appointments, giving high priority to finalizing the election related ordinance and announcing date for the fresh CA election.
Currently, Nepali embassies in India, Malaysia, Thailand, Egypt and Nepal´s permanent mission to the United Nations in New York are functioning without ambassadors. The government´s failure to appoint ambassadors in key neighboring countries like India even 22 months after the post fell vacant has drawn strong criticism from various quarters.
Likewise, Nepal´s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, which is considered crucial in terms of multilateral diplomacy, is also without ambassador after then ambassador Gyan Chandra Acharya was appointed as UN Under Secretary for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States in August last year.
The government had last appointed a total of 10 ambassadors to various missions abroad in January, 2012 with 50 percent candidates appointed from among career diplomats and 50 percent under the quota for political parties. Foreign Secretary Durga Bhattarai, joint secretaries Arjun Bahadur Thapa, Niranjan Man Singh Basnyat, Ambika Luitel and Deepak Dhital are among the contenders for the post of ambassadors from among career diplomats.
Sources said the government is also making necessary preparations to give full shape to various constitutional bodies, including the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), Public Service Commission (PSC) and Office of the Auditor General.
Though the parties represented in the High Level Political Committee (HLPC) had earlier agreed to fill all vacant positions including the post of chief election commissioner, they could agree only on the names of head of other constitutional bodies including CIAA, PSC and Office of the Auditor General. Sources said the government is preparing to give full shape to the constitutional bodies in consultation with the major political parties.
Earlier, a mandatory constitutional provision of parliamentary hearings before appointments of ambassadors and commssioners in the constitutional bodies had barred the government from taking any decison after the dissolution of parliament in May last year. However, promulgation of a 25-point ordinance that removed the mandatory provison of parliamentary hearing paved the way for the appointments of the members of the constitutional bodies and ambassadors.
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