KATHMANDU, July 28: Among the power-sharing parties, the Nepali Congress (NC) has no representatives in the Constitutional Council. As a result, different alternatives for NC’s representation are being considered. According to the agreements between the NC and the UML, the latter will lead the government for the next two years, until June 2026, and thereafter, the NC will lead the government until the upcoming elections. However, currently, the ruling partners – the NC and the UML – are unable to make appointments to the Council. To address this issue, the NC is seeking to appoint members in the Council. The Constitutional Council appoints the Chief Justice and officials to constitutional bodies.
There is a constitutional provision for the Prime Minister to act as the chairman of the Council which includes the Chief Justice, the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker, the National Assembly (NA) Chairman, and the parliamentary party leader of the main opposition party in the House of Representatives (HoR) as members. A majority of 4 members is required for the Constitutional Council to make any decision.
In the current situation, where the coalition party NC is absent from the Constitutional Council, the ruling alliance cannot make appointments to the council with the support of the main opposition CPN (Maoist Center) and Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP). This is because, in the six-member council, there are two members from the Maoist Center and one from the RSP.
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The NA chairman Naryan Dahal and Deputy Speaker Indira Ranamagar have the background of Maoist Center and RSP, respectively. The parliamentary party leader of the main opposition of Maoist Center is Pushpa Kamal Dahal. In such a situation, the current government alone cannot make appointments to the constitutional bodies, so it will need to rely on the support of the Maoist Center and RSP. In order to get their support, it will be necessary to give a share in the appointment to both the parties.
As a result, it appears to be nearly impossible to replace NA Chairman Naryan Dahal despite their efforts. Therefore, efforts are also being made to replace the Speaker, as well as the Deputy Speaker. The ruling alliance is attempting to remove Deputy Speaker Ranamagar by highlighting the issue of a letter she sent to the US Embassy.
The NC is criticizing Deputy Speaker Ranamagar in the HoR over a letter she wrote to the American Embassy requesting to reschedule interviews for five additional people in connection with her participation in the 67th session of the 'Commission on the Status of Women' in the United States a year and a half ago. Some claim that if Deputy Speaker Ranamagar is removed on this pretext, the NC will stake a claim for the Speaker's position while the UML is preparing to take over the Deputy Speaker’s role.
There is a possibility of changing the Speaker since Devaraj Ghimire is a trusted ally of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. It is believed that the UML might agree to take the Deputy Speaker’s position if the Speaker is given to the NC, as there is an agreement for Oli to serve as Prime Minister for two years.
It has been 19 months since the new HoR was formed, and Speaker Ghimire has been in office for almost 18 months, having been elected on January 19, 2023. Having served as Speaker for about a year and a half, the NC believes that UML will agree to his removal.
If Deputy Speaker Ranamagar refuses to resign, there is a possibility of removing her showing reason of code of conduct. Rule 210 of HoR regulation, 2079, states for the provision if the Speaker or Deputy Speaker fails to show appropriate conduct. According to various sub-rules of this rule, if a member believes that the Speaker or Deputy Speaker has not acted in accordance with their position, a proposal must be made with the support of one-fourth of the total members of the HoR. This proposal should be submitted in accordance with Article 91(6)(c), of the Constitution. Once the proposal is registered, a date and time for discussion must be set within seven days of the registration.
Decisions will be made through a split vote with signatures. A proposal will be passed and the position will be vacated if two-thirds of the total HoR members vote in favor. Since a two-thirds majority of the NC and the UML alone is not sufficient, support from an additional 19 members is necessary. The government has received a vote of confidence from two-thirds of the members.
With the NC not being represented in the Constitutional Council, there is concern that this could impact the ruling coalition. To reduce this risk, it is said that the UML is also internally considering how to include the NC in the Constitutional Council.
