KATHMANDU: The inaugural session of the 7th House of Representatives has concluded its procedural mandates, successfully establishing the parliament’s leadership and organizational structure.
The session, which prorogued at midnight on Friday, focused primarily on internal transitions rather than the enactment of new legislation, effectively clearing the path for the upcoming Budget Session.
During this brief session, Dol Prasad Aryal was elected as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, while Ruby Kumari Thakur was elected Deputy Speaker. Additionally, the National Assembly elected Leela Kumari Bhandari as its Vice Chairperson.
Parliament Secretariat spokesperson Ekram Giri confirmed that both houses completed the nomination of members to joint and standing committees during their final meetings. The election for the Chairpersons of these committees is now scheduled to take place on April 17, which will allow parliamentary activities, monitoring, and evaluation of ministerial work to gain full momentum.
While the session was productive in terms of organization, it was notable for the absence of new laws. The House did, however, approve three key ordinances concerning elections, voters, and the Nepal Special Service.
A new ‘Alternative Development Finance Bill, 2082’ was introduced and underwent theoretical discussion, though it remains to be forwarded to the relevant committee for detailed review. Since all bills pending prior to the recent election have automatically lapsed, the new government will need to re-table its legislative priorities in the next session.
One significant outcome of the session was the formation of the Parliamentary Hearing Committee. This enables the legislature to proceed with the vetting of high-level appointments, including the vacant positions of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the Chief Election Commissioner.
In total, the House of Representatives met six times for a combined duration of nearly eleven hours. Despite the formation of the new cabinet led by Prime Minister Balendra Shah following the Rastriya Swatantra Party’s significant electoral victory, the Prime Minister did not deliver a formal address to the House during this first session, marking a departure from traditional parliamentary practice.
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