Nepal's House of Representatives to Elect Speaker on Sunday

Kathmandu. The Speaker of the House of Representatives is set to be elected on Sunday. President Ramchandra Paudel, on the recommendation of the Council of Ministers led by Prime Minister Balen Shah, has summoned the parliamentary session for Thursday at 2 PM.

General Secretary of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), Kabindra Burlakoti, stated that a consensus was reached during a meeting of parliamentary parties on Wednesday to initiate the election process for the Speaker on the very first day of the session.

According to an RSP official, the name of the party's Vice-Chair, Dol Prasad (DP) Aryal, has been almost finalized for the position of Speaker. The official argued that there is no alternative to Aryal, as he is an experienced individual with political acumen, a collaborative approach, and a deep understanding of constitutional processes.

'Among the three branches of the state, the Speaker of the legislature is a key position. DP is the most suitable candidate for this role. He was a contender for Home Minister,' the official said, adding, 'He is positive about becoming the Speaker. The party sees no alternative to him due to his political experience and ability to play a coordinating role.'

Aryal has served as the Minister of Labour and Employment twice. When Chairman Rabi Lamichhane was jailed pending trial in a cooperative fraud case, Aryal served as the Acting Chairman and led the party.

Rabi, who was released in the first week of Poush, praised Aryal for protecting the party from damage during adverse conditions. Although Rabi pushed to make Aryal the Home Minister to keep him active in an executive role, Sudhan Gurung was appointed Home Minister after disagreements between senior leader Balen and Rabi. Consequently, the party is now preparing to make Aryal the Speaker.

Party Joint General Secretary Bipin Kumar Acharya stated that the process for selecting the Speaker will begin on Thursday. However, he insisted that no conclusion has been reached regarding the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, or other parliamentary officials.

'There has been no discussion within the party on who should be the Speaker or Deputy Speaker. The secretariat meeting will decide on this matter,' he said.

Acharya also hinted that Aryal could become the Speaker but clarified that there have been no discussions on which party should be given the Deputy Speaker position. The constitutional provision requires the election of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker within 15 days of the first session of Parliament. The Speaker and Deputy Speaker must be of different genders and from different parties. Since both positions are members of the Constitutional Council, they are of significant interest to all.

The Council, chaired by the Prime Minister, includes the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Chairperson of the National Assembly, Chief Justice, and the Leader of the Opposition. The Council recommends appointments for constitutional commission officials.

Since the RSP cannot hold the Deputy Speaker position, there is interest in which party will receive it. According to another party official, discussions have been held regarding whether to give the Deputy Speaker role to the Nepali Congress, RPP, Shram Sanskriti, or the Nepal Communist Party, but no conclusion has been reached.

Some RSP leaders are positive about giving the Deputy Speaker position to the Nepal Communist Party (NCP), as it defended the party leadership in the previous term, played a positive role in conducting elections, and is close in terms of agenda. Leaders believe that giving the Deputy Speaker role to the NCP would facilitate a coordinating role in constitutional amendments.

'There are opinions that the Deputy Speaker should be given to the Nepal Communist Party as it would be easier to play a coordinating role for agendas and constitutional amendments. There have also been talks about Shram Sanskriti, RPP, or Congress. However, we have not reached a conclusion on which party to give it to,' the official said.

Meanwhile, leaders of the Nepal Communist Party stated that there have been no conversations with the RSP leadership regarding the Deputy Speaker or constitutional amendments. However, leader Pramesh Hamal mentioned that giving the Deputy Speaker role to the NCP would send a positive message.

'Since the RSP has a clear majority in Parliament, maintaining the balance of power is their concern. Nothing has happened yet. Since the Speaker will be from the RSP, giving us the Deputy Speaker would send a positive message,' he said.

The official noted that there is also a strong opinion that, in terms of power balance, the Deputy Speaker should be given to either Shram Sanskriti or RPP. The leader of the main opposition party will be from the Congress. The National Assembly Chairperson is from the NCP. With the Prime Minister and Speaker from the ruling RSP serving on the Council, and the Chief Justice being an independent individual, leaders are discussing how to proceed while considering all these circumstances.

Additionally, to maintain a coordinating role between the party and the government and to make government operations effective, Chairman Rabi Lamichhane has begun homework on forming a 10-member expert team. Leaders stated that a blueprint has been prepared to form a team of four expert parliamentarians per minister.

'Chairman Rabi is working on forming an expert team to make party operations and government work effective. The team will likely be formed within a week. The expert team will include members from the party secretariat and outsiders,' the leader said.