Kathmandu, Sept. 5
The Election Commission Nepal (ECN)
said on Monday that it was inappropriate to amend the election-related laws in
such a way that the terms of the House of Representatives (HoR) and the
Provincial Assembly become different.
The election body said that its
attention was drawn to the introduction of a Bill in the Federal Parliament to
amend the House of Representatives Election Act, 2017 and Provincial Assembly
Member Election Act, 2014 with provisions relating to the tenure of the HoR and
the Provincial Assembly.
The government had announced the
election date for November 20 this year. Preparation of the election date was
done based on the consultation given by the ECN to the government, the ECN said
in its statement issued today.
Similarly, in case of the
dissolution of the HoR or the Provincial Assembly, the Article 91(6-A) and
Article 182(6-A) of the constitution have a provision that the Speaker and Deputy
Speaker shall hold their office until the day before the date of nomination for
the next election, the ECN said.
“It does not seem appropriate to
amend the law so that other members of the HoR or the Provincial Assembly
remain in the office from the date of nomination of candidates for the election,”
read the statement.
Article 85 and Article 177 of the
Constitution of Nepal stipulate that the term of office of the HoR and
Provincial Assembly shall be five years.
According to both the laws, the candidates
under the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) election system are considered elected
with the publication of the results while the election of the political party's
candidate under the proportional (PR) election system is completed with the
announcement of their election by the ECN.
Since there is no clarity regarding
when the term of office of a member of the HoR and Provincial Assembly begins,
and there is a situation whereby the candidates are considered elected on
different dates when calculating the date of election members is taken into
account, it would be practical and indisputable to calculate the terms of the
members of the HoR and Provincial Assembly on the basis of the first election.
The experience during the HoR
election 2017 had it that the Legislature-Parliament will remain in place only
until the day before the submission of the closed list of candidates in
accordance with the proportional election system for the election of the HoR,
the ECN said.
“In this way, in the case of another
election to replace the existing assembly, adopting the principle that the
previous assembly will continue only until the day before the submission of
nominations for the election, as it has been practiced in the past, it does not
look appropriate to do a different exercise in the same situation,” read the
statement issued by Spokesperson for the ECN Shaligram Sharma Poudel.
In addition to it, according to the
Election Code of Conduct, 2022, issued by the election body in consultation
with the political parties represented in the Federal Parliament and Provincial
Assemblies and has been published in the Nepal Gazette if a member of the
federal or provincial parliaments becomes a candidate in the election for a
post, he/she will automatically be relieved of the current post after the
nomination paper is registered.
The ECN also said that the
government did not consult with the election body regarding the amendment
motives in case of the election laws.
“Article 246 of the Constitution of
Nepal stipulates that the ECN shall conduct, supervise, direct and control the
election, and other functions, duties, rights and procedures of the commission
shall be in accordance with the federal law. It has been the practice of the
Election Commission to participate in the amendment process,” read the
statement.
There was a complete unanimity
regarding the term of the HoR and the Provincial Assembly members when the election
date was announced, and the election is being prepared accordingly, read the
statement.
It is understood that the draft of
the bill was submitted without consultation, there will be more confusion due
to the new arrangement regarding the tenure, as well as the cleanliness and
fairness of the election may also be questioned, said the ECN.
“There is a situation of creating
discomfort even in the implementation of the system. In the present context,
the Election Commission also requests that there be arrangements for
consultation and coordination with it when proceeding with the process of
drafting and amending laws related to elections, including the House of
Representatives Election Act, and Provincial Assembly Member Election Act,”
demanded the ECN.
Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 6 September 2022.
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