The election of the House of Representatives (HoR) scheduled for March 5 is around the corner.
Within a week of the election, the final results will likely be out. However, the Parliament Secretariat is worried about where to administer the oath of office to the newly elected lawmakers.
The International Convention Center in New Baneshwor, which had been used as the Parliament building since the first Constituent Assembly, was destroyed due to arson on September 8 and 9, 2025. The parliamentary party offices used by political parties, including Nepali Congress and CPN-UML inside the Singha Durbar, were also affected by fire. Currently, the secretariat does not have any building capable of accommodating 275 lawmakers in a single hall for the swearing-in ceremony.
Parliament Secretariat spokesperson Ekram Giri says, "If the new MPs are elected by the end of March, it is still undecided where they will be kept and sworn in."
The secretariat has intensified its search for a hall to hold the HoR meetings. It has been urging the Ministry of Urban Development to quickly complete construction of the new Parliament building within the Singha Durbar complex. However, the Ministry of Urban Development has not been able to reassure the secretariat.
To ensure that the secretariat is not blamed for failing to swear in the new lawmakers after they are elected, it has written a letter to the chief secretary requesting a location for the meetings. Spokesperson Giri states that the secretariat will need a hall for the new parliament and meeting rooms by at least February 26.
The Parliament Secretariat has not only sought a hall but has also requested the government to provide one equipped with the necessary arrangements for meetings. It is looking for infrastructure including a suitable assembly hall for immediate meetings, offices for officials and secretariat staff, parliamentary party offices, and physical structures equipped with necessary audio/video recording, live broadcasting, audiovisual, and information technology equipment.
To conduct parliamentary meetings, the secretariat requires a hall with a capacity of at least 400 seats. Even for a joint meeting of the Federal Parliament (HoR and National Assembly together), a hall with 334 seats is necessary. Seats must also be allocated for government employees, journalists, and observers.
It is a tradition for government secretaries and members of foreign diplomatic missions to participate in programs such as the government’s policies and programs and the budget. Therefore, a large hall is essential for parliamentary sessions.
Beyond that, offices are required for parliamentary parties. Similarly, rooms are needed for the Business Advisory Committee to hold preparatory meetings before sessions, as well as offices for the speaker, deputy speaker, secretary general of the Federal Parliament, staff, and rooms for the prime minister and ministers during their visits.
The Parliament building in New Baneshwor housed offices for the speaker and the chairperson of the National Assembly, as well as for the prime minister and the leader of the opposition.
Additionally, there were rooms for discussions during disputes between parties, a control room for live broadcasting, and a media center. Therefore, the letter written by the secretariat to the government mentions arranging a hall capable of live-broadcasting the proceedings.
Currently, National Assembly meetings are being held in the old National Assembly chamber within the Singha Durbar. In that hall, seat management, microphone arrangements, and live rooms have been constructed. It took nearly three months for all these arrangements to be completed. Thus, the Parliament Secretariat wants a new hall managed as soon as possible.
On the other hand, the construction of the Parliament building within the Singha Durbar complex is not yet finished. Construction of the main building and assembly halls is ongoing. Tasks such as seat management, lighting, and microphone setup in the hall are still pending. Consequently, the secretariat remains skeptical about whether the meeting hall will be ready.
It is difficult to find a hall in the Kathmandu Valley that matches the size and facilities sought by the secretariat. Furthermore, halls equipped with microphone systems at every seat likely do not exist in the Valley. For meetings alone, the National Assembly House in Bhrikutimandap or the Pragya Bhavan hall in Kamaladi could potentially be used.
However, the Ministry of Urban Development maintains that the meetings will be held in the under-construction parliament building and is not looking for alternative halls. Roshan Shrestha, an engineer at the Department of Building Construction under the ministry, claims that the meetings of the new parliament will be held at the new building in Singha Durbar.
"The upcoming parliament session will be held in the building under construction. We are working according to an action plan for that," Shrestha said. "The Ministry of Urban Development team along with the construction contractor are working day and night. The new parliament will sit in the new building."
He also claimed that all technology, including the microphone system necessary for the new parliament building, would be installed in time. "The equipment has arrived," Shrestha said. "One or two items haven't arrived, but they are not essential for conducting meetings. Once the software arrives, work will begin.".
