Questions have been raised regarding the candidacy of Rahbar Ansari from the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) for the position of chairperson of the Industry, Commerce, Labor, and Consumer Welfare Committee.
The RSP decided at the eleventh hour to nominate Ansari for the leadership of the industry committee. Prior to this, he was a member of the Education, Health, and Information Technology Committee.
According to parliamentary rules, an individual who is not a member of a specific committee cannot stand as a candidate for its chairperson. Ansari arrived at the Parliament Secretariat to register his candidacy as per the election schedule. However, House of Representatives Secretary Harka Raj Rai initially turned him away stating that his name was not on the committee’s membership list.
While the nomination process was still underway, Speaker Dol Prasad Aryal reshuffled committee members, transferring Ansari to the industry committee. In his place, Chandan Kumar Singh has been sent to the education committee.
Ekram Giri, spokesperson for the Federal Parliament Secretariat, said that the speaker exercised his authority to remove obstacles as per the House of Representatives Regulations.
“The final interpretation of the House of Representatives Regulations lies with the speaker,” Giri said. “He reshuffled members using the authority under the regulations relating to removal of obstacles.”
Typically, changes to committee memberships are made through a meeting of the House of Representatives. Speaker Aryal has said that he will present a proposal for the membership change for approval once the House session commences.
However, Yuvaraj Dulal, chief whip of the Nepali Communist Party (NCP), accused the speaker of acting against the election code of conduct.
"Names cannot be changed in this manner once the election program has been published," Dulal told Setopati. "The speaker acted against the fundamental laws governing elections."
Dulal argued that Speaker Aryal should scrap Ansari's candidacy and publish a new election schedule. Opposition parties have not fielded candidates for chair of the industry committee.
"The speaker does not have the authority to unilaterally reshuffle members, which should be done through a House meeting," Dulal added. "We oppose the reshuffle of members while the election process was ongoing and filing of nominations had already begun."
