Nepal Constituent Assembly passes Fifth Amendment bill

Kathmandu, July 14 : The Nepal Constituent Assembly (CA) passed the Fifth Amendment bill to the interim Constitution on Sunday night, clearing the way for the formation of the Government on a majority basis.

As per the bill, the President, the Vice President and the Prime Minister will be elected through consensus among parties. If such a consensus is not reached, majority of the existing members of the Constituent Assembly will elect the head of state and government.

The bill states that Prime Minister can be removed from office through a simple majority in the Constituent Assembly whereas the President and the Vice-President can only be removed by impeachment by two thirds majority.

The amendment bill also provides for an opposition leader as member in the constitutional council that makes recommendations for important appointments on behalf of the state.

The amendment bill provides for a special committee for integration and rehabilitation of Maoist combatants and management of their arms within six months.

It also provides that the state will develop a culture of consensus and collaboration with major political parties, which were signatories of the November 2005 understanding to fight against the then autocratic regime and with other parties in the Constituent Assembly.

The bill scrapped the appendixes from the Interim Constitution that mentioned the names of Legislature-Parliament members.

The Bill also provides that the Nepal Army will be made national in character and it will be made inclusive in nature, Nepalnews reported.

ANI