House of Representatives (Nepal)

House of Representatives प्रतिनिधि सभा
Emblem of Nepal
Type
Type	Lower house of the Federal parliament of Nepal
Term limits	5 years
Leadership
Speaker	Krishna Bahadur Mahara, NCP Since 10 March 2018
Deputy Speaker	Shiva Maya Tumbahamphe, NCP Since 18 March, 2018
Leader of the House	Khadga Prasad Oli, NCP Since 4 March, 2018
Leader of the Opposition	Sher Bahadur Deuba, Nepali Congress Since 4 March, 2018
Structure
Seats	275
Political groups	Government (190)      NCP (174)      FSFN (16) [1] Opposition (63)      NC (63) Other opposition (22)      RJPN (17)      Independents (5)
Elections
Voting system	Mixed member majoritarian (165 members elected through First-past-the-post voting and 110 elected through proportional representation voting method
Last election	26 November and 7 December 2017
Next election	2022
Meeting place
International Convention Centre, New Baneshwor, Kathmandu, Nepal
Website
hr.parliament.gov.np/np

The House of Representatives (Nepali: प्रतिनिधि सभा; Pratinidhi Sabha) is the lower house of the bicameral Federal parliament of Nepal, with the Upper house being the National Assembly.^[2] Members of the House of Representatives are elected through a parallel voting system. They hold their seats for five years or until the body is dissolved by the President on the advice of the council of ministers. The house meets in the International Convention Centre in Kathmandu.

The House has 275 members; 165 elected from single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting and 110 elected through proportional electoral system where voters vote for political parties, considering the whole country as a single election constituency.^[3] The House of Representatives, unless dissolved, continues to operate for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting. However, in a state of emergency, the term of the House of Representatives may be extended, not exceeding one year in accordance with federal law.

The current House of Representatives was elected in 2017 and its first meeting was held on 4 March 2018.^[4]

History

The House of Representatives was first provisioned by the "Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990". It consisted of 205 members directly elected from single member constituencies. It had five-year terms, but it could be dissolved by the King on the advice of the Prime Minister before the ending of its term.^[5]

Front face of Pratinidhi Sabha Building

Pratinidhi Sabha building of Nepal (moderation of ancient Gallery Hall)

In 2002, the House of Representatives was dissolved by King Gyanendra on advice from The Prime Minister, Sher Bahadur Deuba, in May 2002 in order to hold new elections.^[6] Elections could not take place due to the ongoing civil war, which eventually led King Gyanendra to stage a royal coup. Following the democracy movement of 2006, the King reinstated the earlier legislature.^[7] On 15 January 2007, the House of Representatives was transformed into an Interim legislature. The Interim legislature consisted of members appointed by an agreement between the Seven Party Alliance and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist).^[8]

Membership

The composition and powers of the house are established by Parts 8 and 9 of the Constitution of Nepal.The qualifications for becoming a member of the House are laid out in Article 87 of the Constitution and House of Representatives Election Act, 2017. Members must be :

• a citizen of Nepal
• twenty five years or older on date of nomination
• without a criminal offense conviction involving moral turpitude
• not disqualified by any federal law
• not hold any office of profit (paid by the government).^[11]

In addition to this no member can be a member of both the House of Representatives and the National Assembly.

Vacation of seat

The seat of a member of House of Representatives may be considered vacant in the following circumstances:^[12]

• if he or she resigns in writing to the Speaker or Chairperson,
• if he or she does not meet the requirements under Article 91,
• if his or her term of office expires or if the term of the House of Representatives expires,
• if he or she remains absent from ten consecutive meetings without notification to the House,
• if the party of which he or she was a member when elected provides notification in the manner set forth by law that he or she has abandoned the party.
• if he or she dies.

Composition by province

Elections for the House of Representatives

Number of members by party

List of current members

Speakers

See also

• Rashtriya Sabha
• Elections in Nepal
• Parliament of Nepal

References