Officials of constitutional bodies sworn-in

Kathmandu / February 3 : Officials of different constitutional bodies, appointed by the government, have been sworn-in on Wednesday morning.

The appointed officials had been recommended by Constitutional Council’s meeting held on December 15, 2020, after the government brought an ordinance to amend the Constitutional Council Act the same day.

Amid the ongoing political disturbance, chiefs of the constitutional bodies took the oath of office from Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana at Shital Niwas today. Meanwhile, other appointees took their oath from chiefs of their respective bodies.

Present in the oath taking ceremony were President Bidya Devi Bhandari, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, and National Assembly Chairperson Ganesh Timilsina, among others. However, Vice President Nanda Bahadur Pun and Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota were absent.

Speaker Sapkota, on December 31, had returned the original files of the Constitutional Council that had requested the Parliament Secretariat to conduct parliamentary hearings for the office bearers of 11 constitutional bodies, including the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority, Election Commission, National Human Rights Commission, Madhesi Commission, National Women Commission, National Dalit Commission and Tharu Commission.

The Constitutional Council had sent the names of the nominees to the Parliament Secretariat on December 20 when the House of Representatives was dissolved.

Sapkota stated in his letter that parliamentary hearings could not be conducted as the HoR had been dissolved by the government. He said the recommendations were against constitutional provisions and the Supreme Court’s precedents.