KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 18
President Bidhya Devi Bhandari has given members of the House of Representatives seven days to form a new government.
According to a press release issued by the President's Office, the head of state has given HoR members till 5:00pm on December 25 to form a new government under Article 76(2). Under this article, any member of the House of Representatives can stake a claim to form the government with the support of two or more parties.
The president took the first step towards facilitating the formation of the new government by distributing winners' certificates to newly elected members of the HoR who were elected under the proportional representation system after the Election Commission submitted election results to the president.
The member of the House who stakes the claim to the PM's post will have to give evidence that s/he has the support of 138 members in the 275-member House of Representatives.
The newly appointed PM is required to seek a vote of confidence in the HoR within 30 days from the date of his/her appointment.
Since the current five-party alliance led by the Nepali Congress has 136 lawmakers in the HoR, chances of it forming the next government are high as it is likely to have the support of two new parties - the CK Raut-led Janmat Party with six seats in the HoR and the Nagarik Unmukti Party led by Resham Chaudhary's wife Ranjita Shrestha with three seats - as well as some independent members. There are five independent lawmakers in the Lower House.
NC has 89 seats in the HoR, CPN-MC 32, CPN (Unified Socialist) 10, Rastriya Janamorcha one, and Democratic Socialist Party-Nepal four.
The CPN-UML, which is the second largest party in the HoR with 78 seats, is also trying to form the new government.
Its leaders are talking to the CPN-Maoist Centre, albeit informally, to convince the party for a leftist government.
Article 76 (3) of the constitution stipulates that the new government under Article 76 (2) should be formed within 30 days.
Article 76 (8) of the constitution stipulates that the new government under Articles and Sub-articles of 76 should be formed no later than 35 days.
Senior Advocate Mithilesh Kumar Singh, however, said that even though the president gave seven days to lawmakers to form the new government under Article 76 (2), the president would have to wait till 30 days to facilitate the formation of the new government under this article, as Article 76 (3) stipulates that the prime minister under Article 76 (2) should be appointed within 30 days. "If a member comes with 138 members' support within seven days, then s/he can be appointed as the new PM, but if they come with a request to extend the deadline, then the president will have to give them more time to submit their claim within 30 days," he told THT.
Singh said chances of forming the new coalition government within seven days were high, but if no member of the HoR stakes claim to the PM's post, the president would call on the single largest party to form the government in accordance with Article 76 (3).
Senior Advocate Chandra Kanta Gyawali said the president's call to HoR members to form the new government before taking the oath of office and secrecy was not in consonance with the letter and spirit of the constitution. "Lawmakers get validity of their status only after they take the oath of office and secrecy and the government formation can take place only after the government summons the first session of the Parliament within 30 days from the date the final results are announced. These processes have not been fulfilled here," Gyawali said. "It is a normal procedure in all countries with parliamentary democracy to form the government after lawmakers are administered the oath of office and secrecy, parliamentary party leaders elected, and the first session of the newly elected House summoned," he added.
Gyawali said he had raised the issue in 2018 as well when CPN-UML Chair KP Sharma Oli became the new PM without taking the oath of office and secrecy as a member of the HoR, but nobody paid attention to his arguments.
President's Media Expert Tika Prasad Dhakal said since no party secured simple majority in the HoR, the president gave parties seven days' time to form the government keeping in mind the constitutional provisions mandating the formation of the new government within 35 days from the final election results and the possibility of other options under sub-articles of Article 76 that could also apply. Dhakal said the president followed the conventions set by the president since the Interim Constitution of Nepal, 2007, when the president called for the formation of a new government within three days from the date final election results were announced. He said swearing-in of lawmakers was a separate procedure under the jurisdiction of the Parliament Secretariat. He said the calling of the first session of the parliament was also the jurisdiction of the government.
A version of this article appears in the print on December 19, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
