KATHMANDU:- The Election Commission has suggested to the government-formed Constitution Amendment Task Force that the number of members from the federal parliament to village and municipal assemblies should be reduced by more than half.
The Commission sent its suggestions regarding constitutional amendments to the task force at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers last week, suggesting a reduction in the number of members in the National Assembly, House of Representatives, Provincial Assemblies, and Village and Municipal Assemblies.
Acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari said that the suggestions were submitted in a meeting of the commission as per the letter from the task force.
“These suggestions are also based on our experience working and observing in the Election Commission,” Bhandari told Online News. “We have sent the suggestions to the task force based on the experience of the commission and discussions among the officials.”
The Election Commission has suggested adding the subject of exercising adult suffrage to the list of duties of citizens.
Article 48 of the Constitution of Nepal contains a provision on the duties of citizens. The Commission has suggested adding a provision to it by adding sub-section (e) stating that ‘it shall be the duty of every citizen to exercise adult suffrage’.
The Election Commission has suggested changing the political role of the Vice President.
The commission has proposed amending Article 67 of the Constitution to make the role of ‘the Speaker of the National Assembly also the function of the Vice President’. It has said that such an amendment is necessary ‘to make coordination between the executive and parliament effective’.
The Election Commission has suggested amending the constitutional provision for forming a 25-member federal council of ministers and including a provision in the constitution that states that the council of ministers should be formed from federal MPs and other experts according to the principle of inclusion.
The commission has suggested removing the constitutional provision that requires a non-MP to become a member of the federal parliament within six months of becoming a minister and opening the system for expert non-MPs to become ministers at the provincial level as well.
The Election Commission has suggested making the current 275-member House of Representatives smaller and more streamlined.
According to the Commission’s suggestion, one constituency should be created from each district and one member should be directly elected from each. This would result in 77 members of the House of Representatives being directly elected. Currently, directly elected members of the House of Representatives are elected from 165 constituencies across the country.
The Election Commission has suggested a major overhaul of the current proportional representation system. It has suggested a proportional representation system of 28 seats instead of 110 seats.
