Experts stress rule of law in CA elections

May 21, 2006
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Political analysts and constitutional experts have said the election to the Constituent Assembly (CA) must be held as per the rule of law and the principles of political, socio-economic and legal constitutionalism.

Speaking at an interaction programme organised by Nepal Council of World Affairs in the capital on Saturday, they said the declaration of the House of Representatives (HoR) on May 18 must be made a part of the 1990 Constitution, adding the proclamation should be in effect until the interim constitution is formed.

Presenting his paper on the occasion, former chief election commissioner, Surya Prasad Shrestha said, “We must head to CA polls as per the regulations of the existing constitution and the declaration of the revived HoR.

He said the King’s proclamation reviving the HoR on April 24 and the HoR’s declaration on May 18 were as per the 1990 Constitution.

Presenting his paper on the road to the CA polls and the restructuring of the State, legal expert Chandra Kant Gyawali stressed the need to incorporate all principles of constitutionalism in the CA election.

Gyawali stressed the need to constitute a commission that ensures the election to constituent assembly is inclusive.

Gyawali said principles of political, social, cultural, economic and legal constitutionalism must be followed in drafting a new constitution.

Commenting on the papers of Shrestha and Gyawali, former Bar Association President Radheshyam Adhikari said there are still some contentious issues that need to be sorted out before going for the CA polls.

Another legal expert Devendra Lal Nepali stressed the need to proceed with the CA election in a scientific manner, which can be achieved through geographic, population, and socio-economic distribution of communities.

In a historic decision, the reinstated House of Representatives on Thursday declared itself “supreme” and for the first time in the country’s history– drastically curtailed the royal powers.