Parliament Secretariat Prepares for Federal Parliament Session Following Election Results

Kathmandu. The process of announcing the results of the House of Representatives election held on Falgun 21 is reaching its final stage. The Federal Parliament Secretariat has stated that preparations are underway to summon the House of Representatives meeting immediately after the final results are made public by the Election Commission.

Article 93 of the Constitution of Nepal outlines the provisions for the summoning and prorogation of the parliamentary session. According to this provision, the President must summon the session of the Federal Parliament within 30 days from the date of the declaration of the final results of the election held for the House of Representatives.

Although the constitution mentions 30 days, the Secretariat has generally not delayed the summoning of the meeting by more than one or two weeks in the past, informed Secretariat Spokesperson Ekram Giri. "The Secretariat will issue a notice for the parliamentary session, giving newly elected members about 10 days to arrive in Kathmandu. During this time, the eldest member will take the oath from the President, and they will administer the oath to the other members," he said.

Spokesperson Giri also informed that there is a legal provision for the eldest member to perform the role of the Speaker until the election of the Speaker. "The first meeting of the Parliament will announce the election of the Speaker, and in the absence of the Speaker, names of members from each party, three from each, will be sought and endorsed to perform the role. In the subsequent first meeting, ordinances, if any, will be presented," he said.

Parliament Session to be Held in Alternate Hall Due to Main Building Preparation Delays

Spokesperson Giri informed that since the construction of the Parliament building is not yet complete, preparations are being made for the upcoming House of Representatives session to be held in a hall designated for alternate use for some time. "Technical management work is being carried out to prepare the hall located between the under-construction buildings for the House of Representatives and the National Assembly for the meeting," he said.

According to the agreement made on Ashoj 16, 2076 BS, between the Ministry of Urban Development and the construction company Tundi-Seokyo Joint Venture, the Federal Parliament Building was supposed to be completed within three years, by Ashoj 15, 2079 BS. The construction of the building has not been completed to date, citing reasons including the COVID-19 pandemic.

The project, being built on an area of 151 ropanis, will include 12 buildings, including the House of Representatives building, the National Assembly building, VIP rooms, and other offices. There will be eight main buildings within the Parliament complex. The complex will feature a joint lobby with a seating capacity of 350, and 10 parliamentary party offices of various sizes. It will also include four additional VIP rooms, two Parliament Secretariat buildings, a Parliament Library, two canteens with capacities of 100 and 300 people respectively, and parking capacity for 390 vehicles.