Lack of Consensus Among Parties Delays Speaker Selection in Bagmati Provincial Assembly

April 25, Hetauda – The process of selecting the Speaker of the Bagmati Provincial Assembly remains uncertain due to the absence of consensus among ruling parties. The vacant Speaker position has drawn claims from the ruling Nepali Congress and CPN (UML), with no agreement reached between them. The post has been vacant since Speaker Bhuvankumar Pathak resigned on Ashoj 1 (September 17, 2022) following the Janajati Andolan movement. Constitutional provisions require the Speaker to be elected within 15 days of a Provincial Assembly meeting.

Although preparations were underway to advance the Speaker selection process on April 21, delays have occurred due to disagreements among parties, according to Pukar Maharjan, spokesperson of the Nepali Congress parliamentary party in Bagmati Province. Both the ruling and opposition parties have put forward separate claims for the vacant Speaker post. Maharjan, representing the largest party in the provincial assembly, asserted that the Speaker position should be given to the Nepali Congress. “The UML is also staking a claim, but we want to proceed with mutual agreement between both ruling parties,” he said. “As the largest party, Congress should be allotted the Speaker position.”

Maharjan emphasized moving forward by establishing consensus among the ruling parties. On the other hand, the UML claims the Speaker post for itself, arguing that because the Chief Minister is from the Nepali Congress, the Speaker should come from their party. Ekalal Shrestha, chief whip of the UML parliamentary party, stated that since the Chief Minister is from Congress, their party’s claim to the Speaker post remains uncontested. He noted that some delay had occurred while parties sought to select the Speaker with consensus across all parties.

Leader Shalikram Jamkattel of the Communist Party of Nepal stated that as the major opposition, their party deserves the Speaker to maintain balance between the government and the assembly. While asserting his party’s claim for the Speaker, he confirmed that in the absence of agreement among the ruling parties, his party will field a candidate. “We are telling the ruling parties: You handle the government, give us the leadership of the assembly,” Jamkattel said. “The opposition’s claim is natural for power balance and sends a positive message. If the ruling parties reach an agreement, that’s good; if not, we will present our nomination.” The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has also claimed the Speaker post. RSP parliamentary leader Uddhav Thapa stated that after Speaker Pathak resigned, who was from their party, the Speaker position rightfully belongs to the RSP again.

The Bagmati Provincial Assembly has 104 members: Nepali Congress with 35, CPN-UML with 25, Communist Party of Nepal with 26, Rastriya Swatantra Party with 13, Nepal Workers Peasants Party with 3, and Hamro Nepali Party with 2 members.