Kathmandu, June 17

The National Assembly will determine the tenure of its members through lottery tomorrow. The Parliament Secretariat has completed preparation for the same and organised a press meet in the Parliament building today to apprise mediapersons of it.

Although members of the House of Representatives serve for five years each, Article 86 (3) of the constitution stipulates that  in the first Parliament formed in accordance with the new constitution, the tenure of National Assembly members will be determined in a way that one-third of them serve for six years, one-third for four years and the remaining one-third for two years. This means 20 members will serve for six years, 20 for four years and 19 for two years, said Murari Mahat, a joint secretary at the Parliament Secretariat.

Mahat said draw of lots would start at 11:30 am tomorrow and the process could end in two hours.

According to National Assembly Secretariat Secretary Rajendra Phuyal, the Parliament Secretariat will put boxes for each cluster and members representing those clusters will have to draw their lots from the same cluster.

There will be separate boxes for Dalits, women, differently abled and people from minority communities, besides separate box for 21 members — three from each province who were elected under the open category, he added.

Members elected under women and open category can choose two-, four- and six-year terms, but since there are only seven members under Dalit and persons with disabilities or minority community clusters, only six members will have chance to choose between two-, four- and six-year tenure and one member will have zero tenure in both these clusters who will choose their tenure in the second round.

Mahat said these two members will choose between four- and six-year tenure in the second round of lottery draw.

As per the constitutional provision, 56 members are elected, including three women, one Dalit and one from persons with disabilities or minorities, from each province by an electoral college.

Three members of the NA are nominated by the president on the recommendation of the government.

The Nepal Communist Party has 39 members in the Upper House, the Nepali Congress has 13, while the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal and the Federal Socialist Forum-Nepal have two members each.  Three members nominated by the president will have a separte box for the draw of lots.

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