KATHMANDU, April 3: Main opposition Nepali Congress lawmakers have strongly protested against the 'unilateral' decision of the Constitutional Council (CC) to nominate Dinesh Thapaliya as the Chief Election Commissioner. Speaking at the meeting of the parliament's Public Hearing Committee (PHC) which began hearings on Thapaliya's nomination on Tuesday, NC lawmakers accused the CC of taking the decision unilaterally.

NC lawmakers said that they have serious objection to the decision taken by the council ignoring the request from the main opposition leader Sher Bahadur Deuba to postpone the meeting until April 6 due to his busy work schedule. The council had decided to recommend Thapaliya as the chief of the election body on March 26 in the absence of Deuba, an ex-officio member of the council.

The decision of the council further alienated NC which was already irked with the Prime Minister for picking the heads of five different constitutional bodies on January 20 without the participation of the main opposition party leader. In response, NC lawmakers had boycotted the parliamentary hearing of the five commissions' nominees to protest against the 'unilateral' decision of the Prime Minister.

“We don't have any issue with the nominee but we have serious objection to the nomination process. Because the decision has been made bypassing the main opposition leader irrespective of his written request to postpone the meeting due to his pre-scheduled programs,” said NC whip and committee member Pushpa Bhusal at the meeting on Tuesday.

Gyanendra Karki of the same party accused the Prime Minister of breaching the constitutional spirit while taking the decision of about Thapaliya.

However, lawmakers from the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) suggested the NC to express its grievances on the decision of the CC at the council meeting not at the PHC. “The leader of the main opposition can file his protest against the decision of the CC at the council itself,” said Yogesh Bhattarai of the NCP.

The CC comprises the prime minister as chairperson and the chief justice, the speaker of the House of Representatives, the chairperson of the National Assembly, the leader of the main opposition party in the House of Representatives and the deputy speaker as members. There is a practice of the CC going ahead if the main opposition party leader fails to show up even for the rescheduled meeting.

The chairperson of the PHC, Laxman Lal Karna urged the lawmakers not to remain absent in the meeting of the hearing committee citing failure of the committee to take any decision on the nomination of Muslim Commission head last month. The committee has decided to call complaints against EC chief nominee Thapaliya within 10 days starting from Wednesday.

 
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