KATHMANDU – The government has issued a new ordinance to amend the Constitutional Council (Functions, Duties, Powers and Procedures) Act, clearing the legal decks for the government to achieve a quorum of a meeting of the Council even if four members are present.
President Bidya Devi Bhandari certified the ordinance on Tuesday immediately after a cabinet meeting decided to amend the act through the ordinance.
The amendment through the ordinance follows escalating tension in the ruling Nepal Communist Party that has hit the Constitutional Council meeting.
The ordinance amends a clause in the act that requires at least five members to be present in the meeting to achieve the quorum.
With the new amendment, the meeting will achieve a quorum if the majority of members in the Constitutional Council are present in the meeting. This means the meeting can be held if four members are present.
Prime Minister, the leader of the main opposition party, National Assembly’s Chairman, Chief Justice, Speakers and Deputy Speakers are the members in the Constitutional Council.
Earlier on Tuesday morning, the meeting was canceled due to lack of quorum after Speaker of the House of Representatives Agni Prasad Sapkota remained absent. The meeting scheduled for Sunday was also postponed due to lack of a quorum.
Prime Minister Oli, Sher Bahadur Deuba, the leader of the main opposition party Nepali Congress, National Assembly’s Chairman Ganesh Prasad Timilsina and Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana were present in the meeting.
The absence of Speaker Sapkota, considered to be close to NCP executive chairman Prachanda, has been linked to inter-party dispute of the NCP.
As the deputy speaker’s post is currently vacant, the Council’s meeting cannot achieve the quorum for holding a meeting even one member remains absent as happened.
