President Returns Ordinance to Government Amidst Controversy

Kathmandu. Discussions have started after the Balen Shah-led government sent back one of the eight ordinances sent to the Office of the President, Shital Niwas, on April 14 with the objective of working as desired. 

 President Ram Chandra Paudel was in a dilemma about what to do after the Balen-led Council of Ministers re-recommended the Constitutional Council (Work, Duties, Rights and Procedures) First Amendment Ordinance 2083, which the President had already returned twice earlier. To resolve that dilemma, the President, after consulting legal experts twice at Shital Niwas, finally decided on Sunday to return the ordinance to the government itself. 

The move by President Ram Chandra Paudel has also raised concerns about whether the distance between Shital Niwas and the Balen government will increase.

Kiran Pokharel, press advisor to the President, said that the President returned the ordinance to the government for reconsideration to protect the spirit and meaning of the constitution and democracy and to give vitality to the majority system. He said, 'To protect the spirit and meaning of the constitution and democracy and to give vitality to the majority system, the President has sent it back for reconsideration', he told RatoPati on Sunday evening, 'This is not something for anyone to take otherwise.'

The Office of the President has also mentioned various reasons for returning the ordinance. Citing the precedent of returning a bill earlier, the President has reminded of the constitutional process. On June 25, 2082, a bill to amend the Constitutional Council (Work, Duties, Rights and Procedures) Act, 2066, was presented for authentication during the tenure of then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. At that time, the President had returned the bill with a message, deeming it necessary to improve it. 

Similarly, the Oli government presented the same ordinance again on November 2, 2082, and the President returned it. Despite proposals coming repeatedly in the form of bills and ordinances on the same subject, the President has sent it back for 'reconsideration' this time as well, indicating that the message and suggestions sent previously were not addressed or that the subject matter was not treated with seriousness. 

With this, the government is now in a situation where it has to decide whether to keep the ordinance as it is, amend it, or move it forward through the regular parliamentary process, and the relationship between Shital Niwas and the Balen government will also depend on how the government takes this. 

It appears that the Balen government is trying to make laws and do work according to its own will. In such a situation, it seems difficult for the government to take Shital Niwas's decision positively. 

Yagyamani Nyaupane, a Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) MP and legal expert, argues that the President has no right to return an ordinance. MP Nyaupane expressed the view that the President should take any step to protect the spirit and meaning of the constitution and democracy. He argued that although the President has the constitutional right to send back any bill for reconsideration once, its purpose should be to give vitality to the majority system and maintain constitutional dignity. 

However, he insists that the President does not have such authority in the case of ordinances. 'The constitution gives the President the right to send back any bill for reconsideration once. But in the case of an ordinance, the President has no right to return or deny it,' he told RatoPati. He insists that the President must act only on the recommendation of the Council of Ministers and has no room to deviate from it in the case of an ordinance. 

He criticized decisions made based on some past events or precedents. He stated that unconstitutional steps cannot be taken in the present based on wrong practices from the past. 
MP Nyaupane also said that the President's role is ceremonial. 'If one wants to do politics, one should not be the President, one can do other politics. But after holding the post of President, one must stay within the recommendations of the Council of Ministers and the boundaries of the constitution,' he said. 

Reminding that the people gave a mandate with great hope for the end of corruption and irregularities in the country, Nyaupane said that the government should also understand the President's feelings and the President should also abide by the rule of law. 
However, Pokharel, the President's press advisor, expressed confidence that the government, which has received a public mandate, will understand the President's feelings. 'I am fully confident that the government, which has come with such a public mandate and vote of confidence, will understand the feelings of the Honorable President,' he said. 

The government, through the ordinance, wants to arrange for the Constitutional Council meeting to be held if four members are present, and decisions can be made by the majority of the present members, i.e., three members. However, President Paudel's understanding is that such an arrangement will weaken the fundamental spirit of the majority system. The President appears to be in favor of decisions being made with the consensus of at least 4 out of the total 6 members of the council. Now the government may send the same ordinance to Shital Niwas again. 

Meanwhile, the government and the ruling party RSP have already stated that the ordinance is correct. In such a situation, if the ordinance is stalled again, it is almost certain that the government will become estranged from the President. If the dispute is not resolved, the RSP may even consider bringing an impeachment motion against the President. However, legal experts say that it is not easy in the current situation as the RSP does not have a presence in the National Assembly.