Fiscal Nepal
First Business News Portal in English from Nepal
DP Aryal speaker
KATHMANDU: Lawmaker Dol Prasad (DP) Aryal has been elected unopposed as the Speaker of the House of Representatives after being the only candidate to file nomination within the stipulated time.
The nomination process for the Speaker post was scheduled from 11 AM to 2 PM today. Since only Aryal’s candidacy was registered within the deadline, he has been elected unopposed. However, the formal declaration of his election is yet to be made.
According to the House of Representatives Rules, if only one nomination is filed for the Speaker’s position, the presiding officer announces the candidate as elected unopposed after the proposer addresses the House. The official announcement is expected during the upcoming House meeting scheduled for Sunday.
The ruling side reportedly holds a clear majority in the House, which is believed to be the reason why opposition parties did not field candidates for the Speaker election. In the 275-member House of Representatives, Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) alone is said to hold 182 seats, followed by Nepali Congress with 38, CPN-UML with 25, Nepal Communist Party with 17, Shram Sanskriti Party with 7, and Rastriya Prajatantra Party with 5 members.
Following the Speaker’s election, the process for electing the Deputy Speaker will begin. The Deputy Speaker election will be conducted on a date and time fixed by the Speaker, as per constitutional provisions.
According to Parliament Secretariat spokesperson Ekram Giri, the Constitution and parliamentary rules require that the Speaker and Deputy Speaker must represent different political parties and genders. However, he clarified that in cases of unopposed elections, both positions may be filled from the same party.
Leaders said discussions regarding the Deputy Speaker position have not yet formally begun. With multiple parties represented in Parliament, the allocation of this post is being closely watched for its political significance.
Both the Speaker and Deputy Speaker are members of the Constitutional Council, which plays a crucial role in recommending appointments to key constitutional bodies, including the Chief Justice, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), and the Election Commission.
The Constitutional Council, formed under Article 284 of the Constitution of Nepal, recommends appointments to high constitutional positions, which are later approved through parliamentary hearings.
As a result, the Deputy Speaker position is also considered politically significant, and discussions around its allocation are expected to intensify in the coming days.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Comment *
Name *
Email *
Website
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
