HoR session: Parliament’s term should not be extended once election date is announced

Kathmandu / Sept. 6: MPs have reiterated that the term of the House of Representatives (HoR) should not be extended in the context of the announcement of the date of the election.

Taking part in the clause-wise discussions on the Bill to Amend Some Nepal Acts, 2079 BS in a meeting of the HoR today, they said such an inappropriate decision should not be made in the context of the date of new election already been announced.

Lawmaker Gagan Kumar Thapa said a wrong publicity has been done that the HoR was extending its tenure and the kind of thinking that should have been developed when the government introduced the bill could not happen.

Stating that the bill related to money laundering investigation is a timely one, he said along with formulating laws, the government should work towards their effective implementation.

Gokul Baskota said that attempts have been made to extend the term of the HoR when the election process has already commenced while Sher Bahadur Tamang thanked the government for updating the laws related to money laundering investigation.

Lawmaker Bishal Bhattarai expressed objection saying attempts were being made to extend the HoR’s tenure when the date for registering candidacies for the election was nearing.

Prakash Rasaili also said that he did not support the idea of extending the HoR’s term while Prem Suwal demanded to make provisions in the law that a government would be formed under the leadership of a person not contesting the election and that the term of the HoR would be terminated once the date of new election is announced.

Lawmakers Nawaraj Silwal, Parbati Bishankhe and Attahar Kamal Musalman urged the government to arrange the order of the bills.

Ram Kumari Chaudhary opined that legal provisions should be put in place providing for the termination of the HoR’s tenure after the announcement of the date of the new election.

Lawmaker Bhim Bahadur Rawal said the government should not make decisions with long-term implications once the new election has been announced while Krishna Bhakta Pokharel insisted that the term of the HoR should be clearly stipulated in laws.

Barshaman Pun said it was wrong to bring such bills in the House in haste when the election date has been announced. He said the topic that the government brought through the amendment to some Nepal Acts on the question of money laundering investigation was important.

Binda Pandey, Parbata Kumari Chaudhary, Amaresh Kumar Singh, Chhakka Bahadur Lama, among the lawmakers also put their views on various topics related to the bill. RSS