KATHMANDU, JUL 01 - Seventeen months after the second Constituent Assembly election, the preliminary draft of the new constitution was tabled in the CA on Tuesday, paving the way for promulgation of the new national charter.
Even though several more steps remain before the constitution is finally out, leaders termed the move as a great achievement considering that the first CA elected in 2008 was dissolved in 2012 without producing the first draft.
Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) Chairman Krishna Prasad Sitaula presented the draft late on Tuesday evening, proposing wider discussion among the CA members. During the second CA polls, major parties had pledged to bring out the first draft within six months and the final constitution within a year—by the missed January 22 deadline.
Deliberations on the draft will begin on Thursday in the Assembly. The draft will then be taken to the people to solicit their opinions on the provisions. The parties, however, remain divided over the time to be allocated for public consultation.
Despite some notes of dissent over some provisions, major parties including the UCPN (Maoist) have backed the document. The Maoist party has reservations about the parliamentary system and provisions on citizenship, and the place of districts in the federal set-up, among others. Top leaders have agreed to continue discussions on the disputed issues.
CA members from three Madhes-based parties—Saghiya Samajbadi Forum Nepal, Tarai Madhes Loktantirk Party and Sadbhawana Party—tore up the draft in protest soon after Sitaula presented it in the House. Forum Chairman Upendra Yadav said they would launch a street agitation as the draft had curtailed the rights of Dalit, Janajati, Madhesi, Muslim and other margnalised communities.
The parties are against the 16-point deal signed by the major parties on June 8 and numerous other provisions of the new constitution . The regional parties want statute promulgation only after the delineation of federal units.
Kamal Thapa, chairman of Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal, reiterated his demand for referendum on secularism, federalism, monarchy and republicanism. He said his party was ready to face the democratic process but its proposal submitted earlier to the CA Secretariat should be taken up. Many more parties and lawmakers also registered their notes of dissent but they have pledged support to the ongoing process.
On the questions about the Supreme Court stay order on the implementation of the 16-point pact, Nembang said the Assembly is free to conduct its business independently. “The CA is free to conduct its business on the basis of its own rules of procedure. The process moves ahead as per the earlier verdicts of the court that the constitution should be drafted as soon as possible,” said Nembang. The dissenting views have also been presented along with the draft.
Presenting the draft, Sitaula said it had been a difficult task coming up with the draft as the parties have their own ideologies and views on national issues. There is still room for amendment to the provisions through wider discussion, he added. The document will also be changed in accordance with public views.
The CDC was supposed to present the draft to the CA on Monday. The Maoists had refused to sign the document stating that Sitaula had unilaterally overturned several positions that were already agreed upon.
They had also demanded that either “father or mother” should have the right to pass on citizenship by descent to their children, instead of the “father and mother” requirement. The draft maintains the “father and mother” provision despite objections from the Maoist and Madhes-based parties and women rights activists.
The preliminary draft comes two months after the Great Earthquake hit the country. Before the disaster, two major parties—Nepali Congress and CPN-UML—had tried to push through the preliminary draft on the basis of their two-thirds majority in the CA.
The devastation brought major parties together to prepare the draft on the basis of consensus. On June 8, they had signed an agreement resolving most of the contentious issues. The four parties agreed to form a federal commission to decide the demarcation of federal units to which some Madhesi parties objected. The Supreme Court also issued an interim order not to implement the pact but the CA process moved on. The CA chairman told the Assembly on Tuesday that the process would not stop.
Maoist positions in notes of dissent
- Presidential system instead of parliamentary system
- Citizenship provision: ‘father or mother’ instead of ‘father and mother’
- Special and protected regions for castes and ethnic groups with sizeable populations
- Call to scrap the current structure of districts
- Correction to altered provisions on proportional representation of women, Dalit and marginalised communities
- Proportional employment of Dalits in business houses
- Proportional and inclusive representation of oppressed and marginalised communities in state and public services
- Inclusive and proportional representation of women
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances should function even after statute promulgation until tasks are over
- All war-era cases should be dealt with the TRC
- Reappointment of chief justice and heads of constitution al bodies after statute promulgation
Preamble: Sovereignty vested in the people, competitive multi-party democratic system embracing proportional inclusive and participatory principles
Free, indivisible, sovereign, secular, inclusive, democratic and socialism-oriented multi-ethnic republican state called Nepal
Citizenship: Citizenship by descent for a permanent resident born to Nepali parents (father and mother), or if either mother or father was a Nepal citizen during his/her birth and both of them (father and mother) are Nepali citizens while applying for citizenship
Non-resident Nepalis living in countries except Saarc nations to get NRN citizenship and to be entitled to financial, social and cultural rights
Media rights: No pre-censorship in publication and broadcasting of any news, editorial, article, opinion or any kind of print, visual or audio content
Right to religion: Freedom to choose, practise and protect any religion; freedom to abandon religion
Right to employment and unemployment allowance provision
State structure and devolution of state powers:
Three-tier structure—central, provincial and local—in the Federal Republic of Nepal
Eight provinces based on identity, capability, availability of resources and accessibility to administrative centres. Federal Commission to be formed for the demarcation of boundaries within six months. Final decision on demarcation to be made by a two-thirds majority of the CA-turned Legislature-Parliament in three months based on the recommendations of the commission
Executive: Multi-party competitive federal democratic republican parliamentary system based on pluralism
Federal Legislature: House of Representatives (275 members, including 165 directly elected) and National Assembly
One-third seats in central parliament reserved for women
President to be elected by lawmakers from Central and Provincial Assemblies
Judiciary: Supreme Court, High Court, District Court, and Constitutional Court (for 10 years)
Local bodies: Village Committees, Municipalities and District Councils
Special regions to be created as per the law
National Inclusive Commission to ensure rights of marginalised groups
Constitution Amendment without compromising independence, national sovereignty, territorial integrity and sovereignty vested in the people
Transitional provisions
CA to transform into Parliament
President and Vice President to be elected within a month after Parliament session begins
PM to be elected within a week of House session
Speaker and deputy Speaker to be elected within 20 days of the session
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