The House of Representatives has promulgated the interim constitution after day long discussions.
The Interim Constitution of 2063 is the sixth constitution to have been promulgated by Nepal in the last six decades.
When Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala’s proposal to promulgate the interim constitution was put to voting, the proposal was passed unanimously (185 votes were cast in its favour out of 185 present MPs).
Following the promulgation of the interim constitution, the House of Representatives also announced its dissolution. The HoR was restored after King Gyanendra relinquished power on April 24, 2006 in the face of powerful people’s movement.
In the last nine months, the House had approved 50 different bills. Its May 18 Declaration was deemed as a historic incident as it formally clipped the authority of the King and declared parliament as supreme and sovereign body. Speaker Subash Nemwang informed the House of its achievements in the past nine months before announcing its dissolution.
The House of Representatives promulgated the constitution, however, without making any changes despite many MPs of various parties demanding proper amendments.
In the second session of the House today, 9 MPs had spoken from the rostrum putting forth proposals for amending 60 Articles. Those who spoke seeking amendments include Surya Bahadur Thapa, Gobinda Bikram Shah, Gopal Prasad Koirala, Navaraj Subedi, Hari Acharya, Rajendra Mahato, Bidya Devi Bhandari, Parshuram Meghi Guirung, and Bijaya Kumar Gachchadar.
However, following Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala’s appeal for withdrawal, five of the MPs withdrew their amendment proposals. Thapa, Shah, Subedi and Acharya, however, refused to withdraw their amendment proposals saying they could not compromise with principles.
Delivering his statement at the last session of the House of Representatives before it was dissolved, PM Girija Prasad Koirala said that he appreciates the suggestions and amendment proposals by the MPs. Despite conceding that the interim constitution has certain flaws, PM Koirala appealed the MPs to withdraw their amendment proposals for the time being. “Anything that has to be corrected will be corrected along with the initiation of the process of elections of Constituent Assembly, which is our most important priority,” he said, adding, “I have fought for democracy for sixty years. I want to assure you all that I won’t budge an inch from democratic norms and values.”
PM Koirala termed the day as historic and said, “This is the day when interim constitution will be passed along with the collection of arms of the Maoists into containers.”
The new interim constitution has a number of distinctive features enshrined in it. For the first time, the constitution is written and promulgated fully by the people’s representatives. It is the first constitution of the country that has, for all practical purposes, sidelined the role of monarchy. It has added education, health and employment as fundamental rights. It has also declared Nepal as a secular state – deserting its status as the only Hindu Kingdom in the world.
Likewise, the interim constitution has also attracted a fair number of criticisms, with legal experts questioning its constitutionality. The constitution, they say, lacks checks and balances; concentrates all power on the Prime Minister and curtails the independence of judiciary, among others.
After the dissolution of the parliament, the 330 member strong interim parliament including representatives of the Maoists is all set to convene.