Kathmandu, March 26
Newly elected members of the House of Representatives are taking the oath of office and secrecy. There is a legal provision that the senior-most member among them administers the oath to the remaining members.
This time, the senior-most member, Arjun Narsingh KC, 78, is administering the oath.
On Wednesday, President Ram Chandra Paudel administered the oath of office and secrecy to senior member KC at Shital Niwas. Today, KC is set to administer the oath to the remaining members.
The provision for the senior-most member to administer the oath has been in continuous practice since 1991 (2048 BS). However, in 1959 (2015 BS), Giriprasad Budhathoki administered the oath as the executive chairperson.
According to Rule 13 of the House of Representatives Regulations, 1959 (2016 BS), until the election of the Speaker, Giri Prasad Budhathoki was nominated as executive chairperson by the then King on the recommendation of the then Prime Minister. At that time, Budhathoki, in his capacity as executive chairperson, not only administered the oath to other members but also chaired two meetings of the first session of the House of Representatives.
In the third meeting, after the newly elected Speaker Krishna Prasad Bhattarai took the oath from House Secretary Kul Shekhar Sharma, the executive chairperson handed over the chair to the Speaker.
After 1991 (2048 BS), the system of the senior-most member administering the oath to House members came into practice.
Article 51(3) of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, 1990 (2047 BS), provided that in the absence of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker, or if both positions were vacant, the senior-most member would preside over the House proceedings based on age.
At that time, members were required to take the oath before the King before attending the first session following the general election. Accordingly, Khalil Mian, a 74-year-old Nepali Congress member elected from Sunsari Constituency No. 4, took the oath of office as a member of the House of Representatives from the King on June 19, 1991.
Subsequently, Mian administered the oath to the remaining members on June 20, 1991.
At that time, Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala took the oath first, followed by ministers, and then opposition leader Manmohan Adhikari. After that, other members took the oath in 12 groups.
In 1994, the senior-most member of the House was Bal Bahadur Rai, who was 72 years old. He administered the oath to other members and presided over House meetings until the Speaker was elected.
In 1999, Girija Prasad Koirala was the senior-most member at the age of 75. He took the oath as a member of the House of Representatives at Narayanhiti Royal Palace on June 18, 1999, and later administered the oath to other members in groups on June 20, 1999.
In 2007, the reinstated Legislature-Parliament convened under the chairmanship of senior-most member Bal Bahadur Rai. In its second meeting, Subas Chandra Nembang was unanimously elected Speaker.
In 2008, the first Constituent Assembly election was held. Among the elected members, Kul Bahadur Gurung was the senior-most member. On May 27, 2008, he first took the oath himself in a special ceremony held in the Constituent Assembly hall and then administered the oath collectively to other members.
Following the 2013 election, Surya Bahadur Thapa was the senior-most member in the second Constituent Assembly, and he administered the oath to the remaining members.
After the 2017 election, Mahanta Thakur was the senior-most member elected to the House of Representatives. He administered the oath to other members and presided over three meetings until the Speaker was elected.
In 2022, Pashupati Shamsher Rana was the senior-most member and administered the oath to the remaining members.
This time, Arjun Narsingh KC is the senior-most member, and he is set to administer the oath to the remaining members.
