Who Are the Candidates for Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives?

The first meeting of the House of Representatives will be held on Chaitra 19 (March 31), and the election process for the Speaker will commence on the same day. According to the rules, the election of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker must be completed within 15 days after the first meeting. Although the rules stipulate that the Speaker and Deputy Speaker must be from different parties and different genders, there is a possibility that both positions could be filled by members of the same party if there is a single candidate.

Chaitra 17 (March 30), Kathmandu – Preparations are underway to advance the Speaker election process from the first meeting of the House of Representatives, which is scheduled for Chaitra 19. According to Ekram Giri, Deputy Secretary and Spokesperson of the Federal Parliament Secretariat, the election of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker must be completed within 15 days following the first meeting. Discussions are ongoing on moving forward with the Speaker election process.

Rule 7 of the House of Representatives Rules of Procedure outlines provisions related to the Speaker’s election. According to this rule, the election of the Speaker after the House election will be conducted on the date and time set by the senior-most member. Notification regarding this will be published by the General Secretary or, in their absence, the Secretary. A member must propose another member for the post of Speaker. If there is only one candidate, that person will be declared Speaker unopposed after endorsement by three supporting members. However, if there are multiple candidates, proposals and support must be submitted according to the registration process, followed by a brief discussion before the Chair submits the matter for a formal decision. The candidate who obtains majority approval will be declared Speaker.

The Rashtriya Swatantra Party (Raswapa) holds 182 seats in the House of Representatives. The Nepali Congress has 38 seats, CPN-UML 25, Nepali Communist Party 17, Labour Culture Party 7, Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) 5, and there is one independent MP. Based on this parliamentary composition, Raswapa is positioned to secure the Speaker post. Within Raswapa, there is discussion about nominating Deputy Speaker Dipak Prasad Aryal as the Speaker candidate.

Following the Speaker’s election, the Deputy Speaker will be elected on a date and time designated by the Speaker. Spokesperson Ekram Giri noted there is a provision that the Speaker and Deputy Speaker must come from different parties and different genders. “The Speaker and Deputy Speaker must be from different parties and different genders,” he said, “but if there is a single candidate, they may be from the same party.” According to Raswapa leaders, no concrete discussion regarding the Deputy Speaker has taken place yet. The House includes six parties including Raswapa.

After the election, the Speaker will take the oath of office and secrecy before the President, while the Deputy Speaker will take the oath before the Speaker in the presence of the President. Both the Speaker and Deputy Speaker are members of the Constitutional Council, which gives special significance to the party representing the Deputy Speaker position. According to Article 284 of the Constitution of Nepal, the Constitutional Council, chaired by the Prime Minister, operates to recommend qualified candidates for appointments to chief justice, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority, the Election Commission, and other constitutional bodies. Appointments to these positions follow parliamentary hearing committee approval after recommendation by the Constitutional Council.