May 16, Kathmandu – The government had introduced eight different ordinances during the parliamentary recess. These ordinances were presented to both houses of the federal parliament on the very first day of the new session, April 11. During the parliamentary recess, the government issued the Public Procurement (Second Amendment) Ordinance, the Special Provisions Ordinance on the Dismissal of Public Officials, and the Constitutional Council (Duties, Responsibilities, Powers, and Procedures) (First Amendment) Ordinance.
Other ordinances promulgated include the Anti-Money Laundering (Third Amendment) Ordinance, several ordinances amending various Nepal Acts, the Cooperative (First Amendment) Ordinance introduced by Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, Pratibha Rawal, the Ordinance amending certain Nepal Acts related to the Health Sciences Academy, and the ordinance amending various Nepal Acts concerning universities.
After being introduced in both houses of the federal parliament, these ordinances require passage by both houses to enable the government to bring replacement bills. According to the Constitution, replacement bills must be introduced within 60 days of the ordinance being tabled and passed by both houses, then certified by the President to be converted into law. However, the government has yet to decide when it will move the proposal to approve these ordinances. Notably, the parliamentary calendar approved by the House of Representatives, running until June 29, does not include any provision for the approval of these ordinances.
While the government may still choose to advance such a proposal, and the Speaker has the authority to change the parliamentary schedule, the current calendar does not provide for ordinance approval. Article 114 of the Constitution governs ordinances; subsection 2(a) states that ordinances promulgated when parliament is not in session must be presented to both houses upon reconvening, and if not approved, they become null and void automatically.
The government does not appear to face obstacles in securing approval from the House of Representatives, where the ruling coalition holds a two-thirds majority despite being short by two seats of an absolute majority. However, the ruling coalition has no presence in the National Assembly. Opposition parties have consistently opposed these ordinances from the start, registering formal notices with the parliamentary secretariat to reject them. The Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) has formally registered a rejection of all eight ordinances. The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) has registered rejection notices for four ordinances, while the Nepali Congress has registered rejection notices for two ordinances, specifically opposing the Constitutional Council and certain Nepal Act amendment ordinances. The Communist Party has called for the rejection of ordinances related to the Constitutional Council, certain Nepal Act amendments, the dismissal of public officials, and universities.
Monthly and biweekly tentative schedules of the House of Representatives:
