Constitutional Amendment Debate Paper Task Force Submits Report to Prime Minister's Office

Kathmandu. The task force formed to prepare the constitutional amendment debate paper has submitted its report to the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers' Office. The task force, formed under the convenorship of political advisor to Prime Minister Balen Shah, Asim Shah, submitted its report on Thursday.

The government, formed on 2082 Chaitra 13, had mentioned in point no. 4 of the 100-point agenda related to governance reform: "To form a task force within seven days to prepare a 'Constitutional Amendment Debate Paper' on issues related to constitutional amendment, including the electoral system, to build national consensus, and to make the debate process participatory, transparent, and fact-based."

Accordingly, the Council of Ministers formed the said task force on the meeting of 2082 Chaitra 16. The task force started its work from 2082 Chaitra 25 and has completed its responsibility and submitted the report within the second extended deadline.

In the process of preparing the report, the task force conducted 22 formal and other informal meetings. During this process, it held direct discussions with 184 expert individuals including former presidents, former prime ministers, leaders of various political parties, constitutional experts, legal experts, former judges, former attorney generals, former law secretaries, former administrators, women active in various fields, journalists, and representatives from the private sector.

Furthermore, written suggestions were sought from more than 150 organizations including constitutional bodies, the Attorney General's Office, provincial and local governments, the Nepal Bar Association, and various religious organizations.

A total of 44,613 digital suggestions were received via email and WhatsApp from Nepalis residing in the country and abroad through the publication of information on the website for suggestions from the general public, and suggestions were also collected via telephone and other electronic means.

The task force has stated that the report, including an executive summary, has been prepared by studying historical documents of Nepal's constitution-making, reports of the Constituent Assembly committees, national and international practices and precedents, and by classifying the received suggestions into 20 different subject areas.