Federal Parliament of Nepal: Will the National Assembly Challenge the RSP and the Government?
The new session of the Federal Parliament has commenced as of Thursday, following the recent House of Representatives election. Under the leadership of senior leader Balendra Shah ‘Balen’ of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), the newly formed powerful government aims to enact several new laws during this session. The recent election brought 182 RSP members into the House of Representatives. Although this nearly constitutes a two-thirds majority in the lower house, the party holds no representation in the upper house, the National Assembly. This situation has sparked widespread curiosity about whether the RSP-led government will be able to pass legislation according to its intentions.
Upon becoming Prime Minister, Shah highlighted a hundred-point agenda for government reform, including drafting the Federal Civil Service Act within 45 days. The government has already announced plans to create new laws or amend existing ones regarding data regulation, promotion of integrity, and acceleration of government processes. However, is a majority in the House of Representatives alone sufficient to push these legislations forward? Former National Assembly member and Constituent Assembly member Radhe Shyam Adhikari expressed confidence that the government, with 182 representatives in the lower house, can advance lawmaking even when it requires approval from both houses.
According to Article 111 of the Constitution, any bill passed in the House of Representatives must also be presented to the National Assembly. The National Assembly has three options regarding these bills: approve them outright; return them with suggestions or amendments; or approve them with modifications. However, if the House of Representatives further amends the bill after receiving it back from the National Assembly, the National Assembly can reject those additional amendments. The Constitution mandates the National Assembly to implement its decision within 15 days for budget-related bills and within two months for other types of legislation upon receipt.
