KATHMANDU, JUN 27 - A cross-party taskforce formed to prepare an integrated draft of the new constitution has prepared the preliminary draft.
The draft was tabled at the Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly on Friday. After endorsement, it will be presented to the CA. Taskforce members say the draft was submitted to the CA committee despite failing to resolve some of the disputes.
“Some issues remain unresolved but we submitted the draft to the Drafting Committee, asking it to resolve them on its own,” said a Nepali Congress member in the panel.
The team has meticulously documented each article of the new constitution with the help of experts. Legal and constitutional experts including Purna Man Shakya, Bheshraj Sharma, Madhav Poudel and Tek Prasad Dhungana provided technical and legal inputs.
For the new constitution, 37 parts and 296 articles have been proposed. The taskforce, led by Committee Chairman Krishna Prasad Sitaula, was mandated to resolve the disputes and prepare an integrated document on the basis of chapter-wise drafts submitted by the five subcommittees based on the spirit of the 16-point cross-party agreement.
“On the citizenship issue, we are still for the ‘and’ provision,” said Ramesh Lekhak, a CA member from the Nepali Congress. On the federal structure, the parties have agreed to keep the existing districts intact. The present structure of the local bodies will be maintained until the states are carved out and local bodies restructured as per the new constitution.
Sitaula said the debate on the issues would continue and the provisions amended until the constitution is promulgated. CA members on the panel also agreed to hold the local elections within six months. As a transitional arrangement, amid the calls for the reappointment of all the judges and constitutional body members, the members agreed to continue with the incumbent officials.
The Drafting Committee is scheduled to meet at 1pm on Saturday. Sitaula has asked all the committee members to read the draft before attending the meeting. The committee hopes to present the preliminary draft to the CA by Sunday.
When the Drafting Committee submits the draft, the CA sends it to people for feedback. CA Chair Subas Nembang has slated a meeting of the CA for Monday afternoon.
First integrated statute blueprint
- Presidential and prime ministerial elections within one month of constitution promulgation
- Interim election of local bodies within six months of constitution promulgation
- Provincial Assemblies to have 60 percent directly elected representatives. Remaining 40 percent representatives to be picked under the proportional representation system
- Local bodies to have village councils, municipalities and district assemblies
- Village and municipal heads and deputies to be directly-elected; Ward chairs to be picked through indirect election
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