Meanwhile, the Federal Parliament Secretariat is facing challenges in managing the increasing number of parties in parliament. It must allocate office spaces for all the parties, and arrange drivers and other facilities for their chief whips.
“We have already arranged office spaces for all the parties,” a senior official of the secretariat said. “Our team is now working to arrange vehicles and other facilities. For this, we are awaiting approval from the Finance Ministry.” Mockery of a two-thirds majority The erstwhile Nepal Communist Party (NCP) held a near two-thirds majority in the 2017 parliament. Then, the public had high expectations from the government. However, internal conflicts led to the party’s split. The KP Sharma Oli-led government dissolved parliament twice. The previous parliament completed its five-year term amid numerous challenges and turbulence. The NCP ultimately split into three parties. Two Madhes-based forces, Sanghiya Samajbadi Party and the Rastriya Janata Party, also united before later splitting into three parties. This was due to leaders prioritizing their own power over the functioning of parliament. As a result, the previous parliament sat to fulfill its responsibilities for only 334 days over the course of five years. Neither the government nor lawmakers paid sufficient attention to the formation of crucial laws, leading to 27 registered bills becoming inactive. Indifference to drafting laws The new parliament has the important responsibility of endorsing bills related to the implementation of the constitution. The Nepal Citizenship Act (Amendment) Bill has remained inactive after the President decided not to authenticate it. In the lack of this amendment, thousands of children of naturalized citizens have been denied citizenship. The failure to endorse the Civil Service Bill has also made it difficult for the government to manage its civil servants, as it has been unable to assign staff to local units without this crucial law. The government withdrew the bill after it was unable to reach a consensus on it during discussions at the State Affairs Committee of Parliament. The 2017 parliament endorsed 101 bills during its 11 sessions. Of those sessions, three of the lower House and three of the National Assembly did not see the endorsement of any bills. In a hung parliament, lawmakers often pay little attention to bills registered by the government, because they are more focused on forming a government than on formulating laws. With many parties but no majority, it is possible that parliamentarians will act in accordance with the interests of certain groups. The government, therefore, has to make a great effort to secure the necessary majority to pass a bill. The government also prioritizes maintaining its majority rather than passing laws. In the previous HoR, 52 proposals of public importance were registered, but only 10 of them were discussed. There were also 23 resolution motions, 16 attention motions, and one adjournment motion registered, but very few were actually brought up for discussion. Ordinance rule As per Article 114 of the Constitution of Nepal, the government can bring laws through ordinances if a house session is not under way. However, the past five years saw the government issuing 53 ordinances. These ordinances amended important laws such as those related to party splits, oaths, and the duties of the Constitutional Council. The main duty of the parliament is to formulate and revise laws, but every government has tried to bypass it and bring laws through ordinances instead. It is important for the new parliament and their members to discourage such actions and ensure that ordinances are only used in exceptional circumstances. “The government has the authority to bring ordinances, but they have been widely misused in our country,” says constitution expert and former lawmaker Ram Narayan Bidari. “Ordinances should only be brought in exceptional situations.” Q&A sessions on the back burner Question-and-answer sessions with the prime minister and ministers were introduced to make parliamentary sessions more interactive. They were effective initially, but were later overshadowed as the prime minister and other ministers found ways to avoid these sessions. Former lawmaker Krishna Bhakta Pokharel says lawmakers should be able to ask ministers about the problems faced by the public. “The government should accept the responsibility of answering the questions in parliament,” he said. Stalled impeachment motion An impeachment motion was filed in parliament against then Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher Rana for violating official conduct and dignity, leading to his automatic suspension. However, the previous parliament failed to make a decision in time. An impeachment motion against Rana remains in limbo. After the new parliament was elected, Rana submitted a petition to the secretariat arguing that the impeachment motion had become ineffective. General Secretary of Parliament Bharat Gautam also issued a letter stating that the impeachment was ineffective. Rana attempted to assume office on the basis of this letter, but was prevented from doing so. Before any decision could be made on the motion, Rana retired. As the case is still under consideration, the government has been unable to appoint a new Chief Justice.
| SN | Political party | MPs |
| 1 | Nepali Congress | 89 |
| 2 | CPN-UML | 78 |
| 3 | CPN (Maoist Center) | 32 |
| 4 | Rastriya Swatantra Party | 20 |
| 5 | Rastriya Prajatantra Party | 14 |
| 6 | Janta Samjbadi Party, Nepal | 12 |
| 7 | CPN (Unified Socialist) | 10 |
| 8 | Janamat Party | 6 |
| 9 | Loktantrik Samajbadi Party | 4 |
| 10 | Nagarik Unmukti Party | 3 |
| 11 | Nepal Majdoor Kisan Party | 1 |
| 12 | Rastriya Janamorcha | 1 |
| 13 | Independents | 5 |
| Total | 275 | |
