House of Representatives (Nepal)

The House of Representatives, or Pratinidhi Sabha (Nepali: प्रतिनिधि सभा; Pratinidhi sabhā), is one of the houses of the Federal Parliament of Nepal, with the other house being the National Assembly.[1] Members of the House of Representatives are elected through a parallel voting system. They hold their seats for five years or until the body is dissolved by the President on the advice of the council of ministers. The house meets at the International Convention Centre in Kathmandu.

Pratinidhi Sabha

प्रतिनिधि सभा
2nd Federal Parliament
Type
Type
Term limits
5 years
History
Preceded by2nd Nepalese Constituent Assembly
Leadership
Dev Raj Ghimire, CPN (UML)
since 19 January 2023
Indira Ranamagar, RSP
since 21 January 2023
Leader of the House
Leader of the Opposition
KP Sharma Oli, CPN (UML)
since 27 February 2023
Structure
Seats275
Political groups
Government (156)
  •   NC (88)
  • Socialist Front
  •   Janamat (6)
  •   NUP (4)
  •   LSP-N (4)
  •   NSP (2)[lower-alpha 1]

Confidence & supply (4)

Opposition (115)

Elections
Parallel voting:
  • 165 seats – FPTP
  • 110 seats – PR
Last election
20 November 2022
Meeting place
International Convention Centre, New Baneshwor, Kathmandu, Nepal
Website
hr.parliament.gov.np/np

The House has 275 members; 165 elected from single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting and 110 elected through proportional electoral system where voters vote for political parties, considering the whole country as a single election constituency.[2] The House of Representatives, unless dissolved, continues to operate for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting. However, in a state of emergency, the term of the House of Representatives may be extended, not exceeding one year in accordance with federal law.

The current House of Representatives was elected by the general elections held on 20 November 2022, and its first session convened on 9 January 2023.[3][4][5]

History

Parliament of Kingdom of Nepal, 1959–1962

The 1959 constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, proclaimed on 12 February 1959, first mentions the Pratinidhi Sabha first as follows: "There shall be a Parliament which shall consist of His Majesty and two Houses, to be known respectively as the Senate (Maha Sabha) and the House of Representatives (Pratinidhi Sabha)" (Article No. 18, Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, 1959).[6]

The 1959 constitution was abrogated on 16 December 1962 when the new Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, 1962 was proclaimed and the parliament of the kingdom became unicameral.[7]

Post-Panchayat, 1990–2002

The House of Representatives was first provided for by the "Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990", which replaced the former panchayat system of parliament with a bicameral parliament.[8] It consisted of 205 members directly elected from single-member constituencies. It had five-year terms, but it could be dissolved by the King on the advice of the Prime Minister before the end of its term.[9]

Dissolution, 2002–2007
Front face of Pratinidhi Sabha Building
Pratinidhi Sabha building of Nepal (moderation of ancient Gallery Hall)

In May 2002, the House of Representatives was dissolved by King Gyanendra on advice of the then prime minister, Sher Bahadur Deuba, in order to hold new elections.[10] Elections could not take place due to the ongoing civil war, which eventually led King Gyanendra to stage a royal coup. Following the democracy movement of 2006, the King reinstated the earlier legislature.[11] On 15 January 2007, the House of Representatives was transformed into an Interim legislature. This consisted of members appointed under an agreement between the Seven Party Alliance and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (known by the name Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), since 2009).[12]

Federal Parliament of Nepal, 2015–present

The Constitution of Nepal was drafted by the 2nd Constituent Assembly and the provision for a bicameral legislature was re-adopted.[13] The House of Representatives became the lower house of the Federal Parliament of Nepal and its first election was held in 2017.[14]

Members

The composition and powers of the house are established by Parts 8 and 9 of the Constitution of Nepal. The qualifications for becoming a member of the House are laid out in Article 87 of the Constitution and House of Representatives Election Act, 2017. Members must be :

  • a citizen of Nepal
  • twenty five years or older on date of nomination
  • without a criminal offense conviction involving moral turpitude
  • not disqualified by any federal law
  • not hold any office of profit (paid by the government).[15]

In addition to this, no member can be a member of both the House of Representatives and the National Assembly.

Vacation of seat

The seat of a member of House of Representatives may be considered vacant in the following circumstances:[16]

  • Written resignation to the Speaker,
  • Unable to comply to Article 91,
  • Expired term of office / house,
  • Unclarified / uninformed absence for ten consecutive house sessions,
  • Resignation / removal from the party to which the candidate was associated during election,
  • Death.

Current membership
See also: 2nd Federal Parliament of Nepal § Members of the House of Representatives
Party Parliamentary Party leader Seats
Nepali Congress Sher Bahadur Deuba 88
CPN (UML) K.P. Sharma Oli 76
CPN (Maoist Centre) Pushpa Kamal Dahal 32[lower-alpha 1]
Rastriya Swatantra Party Rabi Lamichhane 21
Rastriya Prajatantra Party Rajendra Lingden 14
People's Socialist Party Vacant 12
CPN (Unified Socialist) Madhav Kumar Nepal 10
Janamat Party Chandra Kant Raut 6
Loktantrik Samajwadi Party Mahantha Thakur 4
Nagrik Unmukti Party Ranjeeta Shrestha 4
Nepal Majdoor Kisan Party Prem Suwal 1
Rastriya Janamorcha Chitra Bahadur KC 1
Aam Janata Party Prabhu Sah 1
Independent 2
Total 275

Composition by province
Province Constituencies
Koshi 28
Madhesh 32
Bagmati 33
Gandaki 18
Lumbini 26
Karnali 12
Sudurpashchim 16

Officers of the House of Representatives

Speakers of the House of Representatives

[17]

Name Party Assumed office Left office Term
Krishna Prasad Bhattarai[18] Nepali Congress 3 July 1959 15 December 1960 1st House of Representatives
Daman Nath Dhungana[19][20] Nepali Congress 23 June 1991 1 October 1991 2nd House of Representatives
Ram Chandra Poudel[20] Nepali Congress 18 December 1994 23 March 1999 3rd House of Representatives
Taranath Ranabhat[21][22] Nepali Congress 23 June 1999 28 April 2006 4th House of Representatives
Subas Chandra Nembang CPN (UML) 13 May 2006 15 January 2007 Interim Legislature
Krishna Bahadur Mahara[23][24] CPN (Maoist Centre) 10 February 2018 1 October 2019 5th House of Representatives
Agni Prasad Sapkota[25] CPN (Maoist Centre) 26 January 2020 18 September 2022
Dev Raj Ghimire[26][27] CPN (UML) 19 January 2023 Incumbent 6th House of Representatives

Deputy speakers of the House of Representatives

[17]

Name Party Assumed office Left office Term
Mahendra Narayan Nidhi Nepali Congress 31 March 1960 15 December 1960 1st House of Representatives
Mahantha Thakur Nepali Congress 23 June 1991 17 December 1994 2nd House of Representatives
Ram Vilas Yadav Rastriya Prajatantra Party 18 December 1994 13 October 1997 3rd House of Representatives
Lila Shrestha Subba CPN (UML) 6 May 1998 10 October 1998
Bhojraj Joshi CPN (UML) 14 October 1998 23 March 1999
Chitra Lekha Yadav Nepali Congress 29 June 1999 17 January 2007 4th House of Representatives
Interim Legislature
Shiva Maya Tumbahamphe CPN (UML) 18 March 2018 20 January 2020 5th House of Representatives
Pushpa Bhusal Nepali Congress 15 July 2022 18 September 2022
Indira Ranamagar Rastriya Swatantra Party 21 January 2023 Incumbent 6th House of Representatives

Terms of the House of Representatives
Elected in Term Seats Start End Elected prime minister
(during term)		 Party Head of State
Parliament of the Kingdom of Nepal Monarch
1959 1st House of Representatives 109 May 1959 December 1960 Bisheshwar Prasad Koirala Nepali Congress Mahendra of Nepal
1991 2nd House of Representatives 205 May 1991 August 1994[28] Girija Prasad Koirala Nepali Congress Birendra of Nepal
1994 3rd House of Representatives November 1994 May 1999[29] Manmohan Adhikari CPN (UML)
Sher Bahadur Deuba Nepali Congress
Lokendra Bahadur Chand Rastriya Prajatantra Party
Surya Bahadur Thapa
Girija Prasad Koirala Nepali Congress
1999 4th House of Representatives May 1999 May 2002[30] Krishna Prasad Bhattarai Nepali Congress
Girija Prasad Koirala
Gyanendra of Nepal
Sher Bahadur Deuba
Interim Legislature 329 April 2006 April 2008 Girija Prasad Koirala Nepali Congress
Federal Parliament of Nepal President
2017 5th House of Representatives 275 4 March 2018 18 September 2022[31] KP Sharma Oli CPN (UML) Bidya Devi Bhandari
Sher Bahadur Deuba Nepali Congress
2022 6th House of Representatives 9 January 2023 Incumbent Pushpa Kamal Dahal CPN (Maoist Centre) Ram Chandra Poudel

See also

Notes
  1. The Nepal Socialist Party jointly registered with CPN (Maoist Centre) for the 2022 election, and all its MPs are part of the parliamentary party of CPN (MC).

References
  1. "Nepal government in minority after Prachanda's party withdraws support". indiatvnews.com. 12 July 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2017. ... Dahal said the party decision has been conveyed to President Bidhya Devi Bhandari, Prime Minister Oli and Pratinidhi Sabha (Lower House of the Nepali Parliament) Speaker Onsari Gharti. But an official said the politically unstable nation's leader would not immediately resign.
  2. Article 86 (2) Constitution of Nepal
  3. "Around 61 percent cast votes in largely peaceful polls". kathmandupost.com. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  4. Kamat, Ram Kumar (28 December 2022). "Prez summons new Parliament session on January 9". The Himalayan Times. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  5. Republica. "First HoR meeting after elections being held today". My Republica. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  6. "The Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, 1959" (PDF). www.constitutionnet.org/vl/item/constitution-kingdom-nepal-1959. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  7. "Nepal-Salient Features of the New Constitution" (PDF). www.icwa.in. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  8. "NEPAL: parliamentary elections Pratinidhi Sabha, 1991". archive.ipu.org. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  9. "parliament". nepaldemocracy.org. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  10. "Nepal king dissolves parliament". telegraph.co.uk. 21 May 2002. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  11. "Nepal's king restores parliament". theguardian.com. 24 April 2006. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  12. "Legislative Branch Reform: Comprehensive Peace Agreement". peaceaccords.nd.edu. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  13. "News | International IDEA". www.idea.int. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  14. Khalid, Alia Chughtai,Saif. "Nepal elections explained". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 8 December 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. "Constitution of Nepal 2006, as amended to 2015". constitutions.unwomen.org. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  16. "Constitution of Nepal". Constitute.
  17. "पूर्व पदाधिकारीहरू". hr.parliament.gov.np. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  18. "Remembering KP Bhattarai". kathmandupost.com. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  19. "Dhungana makes a comeback to politics after 23 years". kathmandupost.com. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  20. Subedi, Ishwari. "Bill for privileges to ex-VVIPs getting fast-tracked". My Republica. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  21. Subedi, Ishwari. "Bill for privileges to ex-VVIPs getting fast-tracked". My Republica. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  22. "Nepal king dissolves parliament". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  23. "Krishna Bahadur Mahara elected Nepal parliament's Speaker". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  24. Sharma, Bhadra (1 October 2019). "Parliament Speaker in Nepal Resigns After Rape Accusation". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  25. "Sapkota becomes Speaker amid concerns from conflict victims and rights watchdogs". kathmandupost.com. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  26. "प्रतिनिधिसभाको सभामुखमा देवराज घिमिरे निर्वाचित". ekantipur.com (in Nepali). Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  27. Setopati, सेतोपाटी संवाददाता. "देवराज घिमिरे सभामुख निर्वाचित". Setopati. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  28. "Kingdom of Nepal: Parliamentary Elections, May 12, 1991". ifes.org. 31 May 1991. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  29. "NEPAL Parliamentary Chamber: Pratinidhi Sabha ELECTIONS HELD IN 1994". archive.ipu.org. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  30. "NEPAL Parliamentary Chamber: Pratinidhi Sabha ELECTIONS HELD IN 1999". archive.ipu.org. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  31. "Despite being dissolved twice, HoR completes its 5-year term". My Republica. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
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