Gokul Baskota Proposes Constitution Amendments: Abolish Provinces and District Coordination Committees, Make Vice President Chair of National Assembly

April 24, Kathmandu – Gokul Prasad Baskota, a leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (UML), has proposed constitutional amendments recommending the abolition of provincial structures and the District Coordination Committees (DCCs). He also suggested making the National Assembly fully inclusive and removing proportional representation seats from the House of Representatives. Furthermore, he expressed a positive view on appointing the Vice President as the chairperson of the National Assembly.

The former minister shared these suggestions today via a Facebook post. Referring to the ruling party’s call to abolish federalism, Baskota recalled that the Nepal Socialist Party (Rastriya Swatantra Party) had raised this issue and questioned, “Should the constitution be amended or not?” He further stated, “If amendments are to be made, they should be limited to the central and local levels only.”

He proposed increasing the National Assembly seats to 105 and ensuring equal representation of 50 percent women and 50 percent men. Baskota elaborated, “National Assembly should have 105 seats, be fully inclusive, have a 50-50 gender representation, and the Vice President should serve as its chairperson.” He also advocated for removing proportional representation seats from the House of Representatives and ensuring 40-60 percent direct representation between women and men.