Kathmandu. The first session of the House of Representatives has completed its procedural work, paving the way for the upcoming session. The session elected Dol Prasad Aryal as Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ruby Kumari Thakur as Deputy Speaker, and Leela Kumari Bhandari as Vice-Chairperson of the National Assembly.
In the final meeting of both houses, members were nominated to joint and individual committees. Parliament Secretariat spokesperson Ekram Giri stated that with the nominations complete, these committees will now select their chairpersons to advance parliamentary activities. The election for the chairpersons of the House of Representatives committees is scheduled for Baisakh 4.
A committee has been formed to draft the new regulations for the House of Representatives. The conclusion of both houses of the Federal Parliament on Friday midnight has cleared the path for the government to present its upcoming policies, programs, budget, and bills in the next budget session.
The first session held six meetings of the House of Representatives over six days, totaling 10 hours and 50 minutes of parliamentary work. The 20th session of the National Assembly spent 5 hours and 45 minutes across five meetings. On the final day, Friday, President Ram Chandra Paudel addressed the joint session of both houses.
Following the oath-taking of newly elected lawmakers at the newly constructed parliament building in Singha Durbar, Balendra Shah, a senior leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party which secured nearly a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives elections, was appointed Prime Minister. The meeting was informed about the Council of Ministers formed under his leadership on Chaitra 13 and subsequent expansions.
Prime Minister Shah did not address the parliament meetings during the first session. Three ordinances regarding elections, voters, and Nepal Special Service were approved by the House of Representatives. No new laws were enacted during this first session.
The ‘Alternative Development Finance Bill, 2082’, which was registered and presented in the parliament, remains to be sent to the relevant committee after theoretical discussions. Since all bills pending before the House were automatically invalidated following the dissolution of the House of Representatives and the announcement of election dates, the new government must resubmit priority bills with necessary revisions.
“The session of both houses concluded in a cordial atmosphere within a short period. The House has found its leadership. Members have been nominated to committees. While there is no immediate business for clause-by-clause discussion of bills in the committees, monitoring, evaluation, and necessary directives regarding the work of thematic ministries and the implementation of laws can take place,” said spokesperson Giri, adding, “These tasks will be decided by the respective committee meetings after the selection of chairpersons.”
With members nominated from both houses to the Parliamentary Hearing Committee and the Committee on Monitoring and Evaluation of the Implementation of Directive Principles, Policies, and Obligations of the State, the work of these joint committees will now gain momentum.
The Parliamentary Hearing Committee is of great importance as it is a democratic process where the legislature tests the competence, capability, and integrity of individuals proposed by the executive for public office, thereby making the executive accountable to the legislature.
Article 292, Clause (1) of the Constitution of Nepal provides that a parliamentary hearing shall be conducted in accordance with federal law before the appointment of the Chief Justice, Supreme Court judges, members of the Judicial Council, heads or officials of constitutional bodies, and ambassadors recommended by the Constitutional Council. Currently, positions including the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the Chief Commissioner of the Election Commission remain vacant.
The House of Representatives committees include the Finance Committee, International Relations and Tourism Committee, Industry and Commerce and Labor and Consumer Welfare Committee, Law, Justice and Human Rights Committee, Agriculture, Cooperatives and Natural Resources Committee, Infrastructure Development Committee, Women and Social Affairs Committee, State Affairs and Good Governance Committee, Education, Health and Information Technology Committee, and the Public Accounts Committee.
The National Assembly committees include the Legislation Management Committee, Development, Economic Affairs and Good Governance Committee, Public Policy and Delegated Legislation Committee, and the Federalism Strengthening and National Concern Committee.
During the session, the latest annual reports of the National Natural Resources and Fiscal Commission, National Women Commission, National Inclusion Commission, and the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority were presented to the House.
