The government will make amendments in a way that may extend the term of current House of Representatives (HoR) until March 5, 2023, more than three months after the next HoR election on November 20.
The bill registered in the House by the government mentions that counting of the term should start from the day the first HoR meeting is held. The first meeting of the current HoR was held on March 5, 2018. The bill also has another provision that states that the term of the current HoR will expire automatically when the first meeting of the next HoR is held.
President has to determine the date for first meeting of HoR once the Election Commission submits final results of the HoR election including both first-past-the-post (FPTP) and proportional representation (PR) electoral systems.
If the first meeting of next HoR is held before March 5, 2023 the term of the current HoR will expire on that day.
There was confusion about whether the HoR will remain after the announcement of general election.
“Except when dissolved earlier, the term of House of Representatives shall be five years,” Article 85 of the Constitution states.
Political parties and constitutional experts are divided as to whether announcement of election date should be considered as expiry of the five-year term or not. Article 91 of the Constitution states that the speaker and deputy speaker shall continue in office until the date of filing nominations for election to the HoR.
Speaker Agni Sapkota has already said that there is an understanding that the HoR will remain until the day of filing nominations.
But the bill registered by the government will extend the term not just until filing of nominations but even beyond the election.
