Kathmandu, March 4
The election for the House of Representatives is scheduled for this Thursday. If voting is not postponed anywhere and the election is conducted peacefully, the Election Commission plans to prepare the results by March 10.
Acting Chief Election Commissioner Ram Prasad Bhandari, in a conversation with Onlinekhabar, said that they are ready to complete the vote counting as quickly as possible.
He stated, “If nothing unexpected happens, we are preparing to finalise both the first-past-the-post and proportional representation results within the second week of March and submit the election report to the President.”
After voting concludes, the Office of the Returning Officer will first count the votes under the first-past-the-post system. Then, it will count the proportional representation votes and send the total vote figures to the Election Commission.
Following the allocation of proportional representation votes, the Election Commission will distribute the proportional seats among the parties, and the parties will submit the list of their elected lawmakers to the Commission.
Section 62 of the House of Representatives Member Election Act, 2017 stipulates that a report including the election results must be submitted within one week of the announcement of the results.
The section states: “The Commission shall submit a report including the results of both the first-past-the-post and proportional electoral systems to the President within seven days of the announcement of the election results.”
Referring to this provision, Acting Chief Election Commissioner Bhandari claimed that the report would be submitted to the President by the end of Falgun.
According to his claim, even if the work is not completed on time, the Commission is likely to submit the report to the President’s Office by the third week of March at the latest.
Once the President receives the election results report from the Election Commission, it is considered that the President has formally been informed of the House of Representatives election results.
Attorney General Sabita Bhandari Baral says that once the Election Commission publishes the election results, the process of forming the next government will automatically begin.
According to her, the federal parliament must be convened within one month of the publication of the results, and the report must reach the President within one week. After that, the much-discussed Article 76 of the Constitution will come into effect in a phased manner.
If a political party secures a clear majority, the President will appoint the leader of that party’s parliamentary party as Prime Minister under Article 76(1). For that, the concerned party must hold a parliamentary party meeting to elect its leader. Article 76(1) of the Constitution states: “The President shall appoint as Prime Minister the leader of the parliamentary party that commands a majority in the House of Representatives, and the Council of Ministers shall be formed under his or her chairpersonship.”
However, if no party secures a clear majority, a member of the House of Representatives who can garner the support of two or more parties must be appointed Prime Minister. For that, the President must call for the formation of the government under Article 76(2), and parties will submit their claims at the President’s Office.
Within one month of the final announcement of the election results by the Election Commission, the President must convene a session of the Federal Parliament in accordance with Article 93(1) of the Constitution.
Attorney General Baral says that preparations are underway to make the Federal Parliament building ready for a session in the first week of Chaitra, and the next government could be formed around that time.
She said, “Depending on the election results, selecting the Prime Minister and forming the government may take some time. But it is unlikely to take more than a week or ten days.”
If the final results are announced in the third week of March, the government formation process will depend on the strength secured by the parties in the election. If any party obtains a clear majority, it will be easier for the President to appoint a Prime Minister. However, if two or more parties need to form a coalition government, the President will call for the formation of government, which may take additional time.
