Tough call to elect a new Speaker of the House: Who will it be?

KATHMANDU, Oct 10: Resigning from the post of Speaker of the House of Representatives after a rape allegation, Krishna Bahadur Mahara is highly unlikely to be back. Information through a bulletin board has been put in the parliament, and the position now lies vacant. Members of the House of Representatives have now begun active parleys in order to get to the position.

According to the constitution of Nepal, you cannot have a deputy speaker and the speaker from the same political party. Since the united Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has the post of the Deputy Speaker represented by Ms. Shiva Maya Tumbahamphe, they either will have to ask her to resign or if they retain her the seat of the Speaker will go to someone outside the NCP.

NCP will no doubt formalize a plan to retain the position for the Speaker but that time will decide, and since the current position was filled in by the Prachanda faction of the NCP, there is a high chance of people close to his group stake claim for the coveted post.

Accordingly, various previous leaders of the NCP are also caving in, former Speaker of the Constituent Assembly Subhas Nembang, and Onsari Gharti Magar are seen to be the frontrunners. Similarly, leaders of the Prachanda faction Top Bahadur Rayamajhi and Janardhan Sharma are also seen as candidates for the post. The Speaker of the house plays an important role in maintaining the affairs of the house while in session and is responsible for its functioning and decorum, hence this position is highly sought after.