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Setting Date For Elections, And Submitting Election Bill
By KTM Metro Reporter
June 14, 2013: at the meeting of the interim election council of ministers held in Kathmandu yesterday, they set the November 19, 2013 following the Article 63 (2) of the Interim Constitution of Nepal of 2007 as the day for holding elections to a second Constituent Assembly (CA), they also decided to submit the Election Bill to the president for issuing the Election Ordinance.
The first CA elected on April 10, 2008 got dissolved on May 27, 2012 without promulgating a new constitution. Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai had set the date of holding elections to a second CA in November of 2012 but the leaders of the NC and CPN-UML did not allow him to do so ultimately agreeing on setting up an interim election council of ministers headed by the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Nepal. Thus, the Interim Election Council of Ministers headed by Khil Raj Regmi was set up on March 14, 2013.
The proposed Election Bill has no provision for the threshold of certain percent of votes required for the proportional representation, as wanted by the leaders of the NC and CPN-UML. They could not agree with the leaders of UCPN-Maoist and UDMF that wanted no threshold. Eventually, they agreed on entrusting the Election Bill to the government.
The proposed Election Bill has made the provision for making the convicted persons of criminal acts not eligible for contesting elections for a life. Leaders of UCPN-Maoist and UDMF were against such a provision whereas the leaders of NC and CPN-UML for it.
The government has set up a commission on delineating 240 constituencies for directly electing 240 representatives from these constituencies. A former justice of the Supreme Court of Nepal presides over the commission. The members of the commission are geographer Netra Dhital, sociologist Damber Chemjong, expert in administration Dr Madhu Nidhi Tiwari, and member-secretary Rajuman Singh Malla. The commission has 30 days to complete the task of delineating 240 constituencies, according to the news in ‘gorkhapatra’ of today.
The government also has invited the leaders of the 33 political parties including the CPN-Maoist, and the front headed by Updendra Yadav, and the front headed by Ashok Rai to dialogues to smoothen the disagreements.
Immediately after the announcement of the election date, leaders of the 33 political parties, of the two different fronts headed by Ashok Rai and Upendra Yadav have agreed on jointly protesting against the unilateral decision of the government on holding elections.
