KATHMANDU: The current session of the Parliament has been prorogued, on Saturday.

The decision to end the current House session aims at letting Prime Minister Sushil Koirala take part in the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

If the House session was on, the House would have to elect the new prime minister within seven days of the commencement of Nepal's Constitution, 2072, scheduled for Sunday, as per the provisions in Part 35 which deals with the transitional arrangements in the wake of promulgation of new charter.

At the House meeting held this afternoon, Speaker Subas Chandra Nembang read out a letter from President Ram Baran Yadav which stated that the current session has been prorogued to be effective from 9 pm today.

It has been learned that a meeting of the three major parties-- Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and UCPN-Maoist -- agreed to prorogue the current session in order to delay the prime ministerial election and let Koirala take part in the UNGA.

Article 298(2) of Nepal's Constitution, 2072, says:

If the session of the Legislature-Parliament is ongoing at the time of commencement of this constitution, then from the date of the commencement of the constitution; and if the parliament is not in session, then from the date of the summoning of the session under Article 296 (6); within seven days the Prime Minister shall be elected as per the political understanding.

Prime Minister Koirala is leaving for the United States on Wednesday, September 23 to take part in the UNGA. Now, the House will elect the new premier after Koirala returns home.

Moreover, the Legislature-Parliament will have to elect the President and the Vice-President within 30 days and the Speaker and the Deputy-Speaker within 20 days of start of the new House session.

The House elected Koirala as the prime minister on February 1o, 2014. He assumed the office the following day.

As per the agreement between the major two parties, Nepali Congress and CPN-UML, while forming the ruling coalition, CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli is likely to succeed Koirala, that too as the first executive head of the country with the implementation of historic constitution made by the people's representatives.

Article 296(1) of Nepal’s Constitution, 2072,says:

After the commencement of this constitution, the Constituent Assembly shall be transformed into a Legislature-parliament, and the term of such Legislature-Parliament shall be up to the term of the Constituent Assembly as prescribed in Interim Constitution.

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