The Legislature-Parliament, on Thursday, approved the Constituent Assembly Members Election Bill – a crucial electoral legislation.

The newly enacted Bill allocates proportional seats to women, Dalit, Madhesis, Janajatis and others for the 240 seats set aside for proportional representation-based elections during the CA.

Of the total 497 seats of CA, 240 each have been set aside for first-past-the-post and PR based elections. The remaining 17 members will be nominated by the cabinet.

And in the 240 seats allocated for PR-based elections, the new Act states that 50 percent will be given for women in terms of total candidates. Correspondingly, for Madhesi men and women, 15.6 percent each have been set aside. For Dalits men and women, 6.5 percent each have been allocated and for ethnic Janajatis men and women 18.9 percent each have been set aside. Two percent each have been allocated for men and women, respectively, of backward region and 15.1 percent each have been earmarked for men and women from ‘other’ category. The PR-based elections will follow the closed (list) system model.

The enacted Bill also includes provision whereby those who occupied political positions during last year’s Jana Andolan II and who have been named in the Rayamajhi Commission report as suppressors of Jana Andolan II will be barred from taking part in the CA elections.

The enacted Bill includes provision whereby a political party cannot field its candidates in less than 10 percent of seats.

Nine districts have been named as backward region including Achham, Kalikot, Jajarkot, Jumla, Dolpa, Bajhang, Bajura, Mugu, and Humla.

Earlier, the State Affairs Committee (SAC) of the Legislative Parliament had, on Thursday, passed the crucial Bill and submitted the same to the parliament for approval.

After exhaustive deliberations that continued for days, the SAC had given its seal of approval on the crucial bill.