Khatiwada, 18 other NA members completing two-year tenure today

KATHMANDU, March 3: The two-year tenure of the nineteen members of the 59-member National Assembly, including Finance Minister Yuvaraj Khatiwada, is expiring today.

The departing lawmakers include Nepal Communist Party’s Haricharan Shiwakoti, Balram Baskota, Mina Budha, Yutol Tamang, Raj Kumar Kunwar, Kamala Kumari Oli, Kali Bahadur Malla and Khemraj Nepali; Nepali Congress (NC)’s Surendra Raj Pandey, Sarita Prasain, Binda Devi Ale, Badri Pandey, Mukta Kumari Yadav and Dhan Kumari Khatiwada; Rastriya Janata Party Nepal’s Brisesh Chandra Lal and Ramesh Prasad Yadav; and Samajbadi Party’s Ram Prit Paswan.

The opposition party’s lawmaker Durga Prasad Upadhyay, who term is also expiring today, died of cancer last month.

Article 86 (3) of the Consitution of Nepal states that term of office of the one-third of the NA shall expire in two years, another one-third in four years and the tenure of the final one-third will be six years.

The arrangement of their retirement was made by drawing lots.

The National Assembly Election held in Jan 23 has already elected 18 new lawmakers to replace them. One will be nominated by President Bidya Devi Bhandari upon the recommendation of the government.

The constitution provisions election of 56 members by an electoral college composed of members of the State Assembly, chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of the Village Bodies, and Mayors and Deputy-Mayors of the Municipalities while three, including a woman, are nominated the President.

Bimala Paudyal and Ramnaraya Bidari are other member nominated under President quota.

The ruling party Secretariat has already picked party Vice-president Bam Dev Gautam, who had lost the 2017 parliamentary election to NC’s Sanjay Gautam from Bardiya-2, to replace Katiwada despite objections from Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli.

The party has been pressuring Oli to recommend him to the President. But, the prime minister has insisted he has already recommended Khatiwada for renomination.