Election Commission Suggests Constitutional Amendment for Restructuring

Kathmandu. The Election Commission has suggested amending the constitution to restructure the commission. The commission has submitted its opinion for constitutional amendment to the constitutional amendment task force led by Prime Minister's political advisor Ashim Shah.

In the 21-point suggestions regarding constitutional amendment sent to the task force after a meeting of the commission a few days ago, it has been requested to amend the provision of Article 245 under Part 24 of the constitution.

According to the current provision, the Election Commission has one Chief Election Commissioner and four commissioners. It has been requested to amend this to have only one Chief Election Commissioner and 2 commissioners.

The commission has suggested that one of the three commissioners should be an expert in administration, one in law, and one in information technology. Similarly, the commission has also suggested amending Article 246 of Part 24 of the constitution. This article deals with the duties and responsibilities of the Election Commission. 'Add the provision that the date of elections to be conducted by the Election Commission shall be decided by the Commission under Sub-section (1) of Article 246', the commission's suggestion states. According to the current provision, under the said sub-section,

'The Election Commission shall, in accordance with this Constitution and federal law, conduct, oversee, direct, and control the elections of the President, Vice-President, members of the Federal Parliament, members of the Provincial Assembly, and members of local levels. The Election Commission shall prepare the voter list for election purposes.' This provision has been followed, and the government has been setting the date for any election based on the Election Commission's suggestion.

Besides this, the commission has also mentioned the need to change (amend) the provision related to political parties in Part 29 of the constitution.

'The Election Commission shall regulate and manage political parties' is the commission's suggestion. The commission believes this will make management effective. Part 29 and Article 269 of the constitution have five sub-sections, which contain provisions for the formation, registration, and operation of political parties.

Former Chief Commissioner Says – Three Are Enough

Former Chief Election Commissioner Nilkantha Upreti says that the issue of having only three commissioners in the Election Commission has been raised for many years.

'Having more commissioners in the commission only increases the financial burden. If the commission is to be made efficient, then 3 people including the Chief Election Commissioner are sufficient,' Upreti told Ratopati. 'We have been raising this issue for a long time, but it has not been heard.'

Some have also criticized that more commissioners are appointed to accommodate political quotas.

'More commissioners were appointed to accommodate quotas, which was wrong,' said the former commissioner, sharing his experience. 'When making decisions, the issue of majority arises. In such cases, they write a note of dissent, which makes it difficult to make policy-level decisions.'

Although the Constitution of Nepal 2072 has made provisions for five commissioners, before that, there was a provision for six commissioners in the commission. Even in India, a neighboring country larger than Nepal, elections are conducted by only three commissioners.