Nepal Parliament to adopt interim constitution

Kathmandu, Jan 15 (UNI) Nepal's Parliament met here today to approve an interim constitution in which the King will have no role.

The House of Represenrative will later dissolve and form an interim house today.

According to Maoist Chairman Prachanda, the existing parliament will issue the interim constitution and the new one will ratify it today. The first meeting of the interim legislature will be held under the chairmanship of the most elderly legislator.

CPN-UML Chief whip Mahendra Bahadur Pandey said there will be three meetings of the parliament. The first two meetings of the current House will discuss the theoretical aspects of the interim constitution, decide on the amendment proposals and endorse the statute as well as announce the name list of 330 new interim parliament members.

The eldest member of the house, Bal Bahadur Rai of Nepali Congress, will take oath of the office and will administer oath to all 329 members of the interim legislature in the capacity of the Speaker.

The first meeting of the new house will start the process of selecting a new speaker. Speaker Subas Nembang said that he had to set these procedures through his special orders.

The new interim constitution will have 330 MPs, including 85 from Nepali Congress, 83 each from Maoists and the CPN-UML each and the remaining from the smaller parties.

Once the interim constitution is adopted the House will be dissolved and the interim parliament, including the Maoists, will be in place from today.

This is the first time in the history of the Himalayan nation that the King will have no role in state affairs until the constituent assembly election decides his fate later this year.

UNI