National Assembly (Nepal)
National Assembly राष्ट्रिय सभा | |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Vice Chairperson | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 59 |
Political groups |
|
Length of term | 6 years |
| Elections | |
| 56 members by indirect single transferable vote, 3 appointed by the President | |
Last election | 2026 (Class 1) |
Next election | 2028 (Class 2); 2030 (Class 3); 2032 (Class 1) |
| Meeting place | |
| International Convention Centre, Kathmandu, Nepal | |
| Website | |
| na | |
| This article is part of a series on the |
| Politics of Nepal |
|---|
| Constitution |
Nepal portal
|
The National Assembly (Nepali: राष्ट्रिय सभा, romanized: Rāṣṭriya Sabhā) is the upper house of the Federal Parliament of Nepal, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Assembly are established by Part 8 and 9 of the Constitution of Nepal. There are a total of 59 members in the Assembly: 8 members are elected from each of the seven provinces by an electoral college of each province, and three are appointed by the President on the recommendation of the government.[1] Members serve staggered six-year terms, with one-third rotating out every two years.
History
The National Assembly was first provisioned by the "Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990", which replaced the old panchayat system of parliament with a bicameral parliament.[2] The National Assembly under the 1990 Constitution was dissolved on 15 January 2007 and replaced by a unicameral Interim Legislature. Following two Constituent Assembly elections which also served as a unitary Legislature Parliament, the constitution, promulgated on 20 September 2015, provisioned for a National Assembly as the upper house of the federal parliament.[3]
Maha Sabha
Mahasabha (Nepali: महासभा) was the upper house of the bicameral parliament of the Kingdom of Nepal from 1959 to 1962.[4]
The Revolution of 1951 made the process to enact a new constitution, which was able to transfer all executive powers back to the Shah kings from Rana regime.[5] King Mahendra was unable to resist the increasingly well-orchestrated political demands by the Nepali National Congress for a more democratic and representative government, and was forced to promulgate a new constitution.[5]
The Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, 1959 proclaimed on 12 February 1959, describes about Mahasabha (महासभा) as: "There shall be a Parliament which shall consist of His Majesty and two Houses, to be known respectively as the Senate (Maha Sabha) and the House of Representatives (Pratinidhi Sabha)" (Article No. 18, Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, 1959).[4]
The constitution of Kingdom of Nepal, 1959 lasted till 16 December 1962. On 16 December 1962, the new Constitution of Kingdom of Nepal, 1962 was proclaimed and the parliament of the Kingdom of Nepal became unicameral.[6] Mahasabha couldn't continue more than two years.
Rastriya Panchayat
Rastriya Panchayat was a constitution introduced on December 16, 1962, by King Mahendra.[7] A four-tier system of indirectly elected councils was established from the village to the national level.[8] The Rastriya Panchayat declared Nepal a Hindu state. The people's movement of 1990 brought an end to absolute monarchy and Panchayat system.
Membership
The qualifications for being a member of National Assembly are laid out in Article 87 of the constitution and the National Assembly Member Election Act, 2017:[9]
- must be a citizen of Nepal
- must be at least thirty-five years of age on date of nomination
- must have name listed on voter list
- should not have been convicted of a criminal offense involving moral turpitude
- must not be disqualified by any Federal law
- must not be holding any office of profit.
Election procedure
Each of the seven provinces elects 8 members each and Government of Nepal nominates 3 members and recommends to the president for approval.
The electoral college consists of members of the provincial assembly and chairperson/mayor and vice-chairperson/deputy mayor of the local bodies within the province. Each provincial assembly member's vote has a weight of forty eight whereas each chairperson/mayor/vice-chairperson/deputy mayor's vote has a weight of eighteen.
Out of the eight members from each province, three must be women, one must be from the Dalit community, and one must be a disabled person or from a minority community. Each elector gets four ballots; one for the three open seats, one for the three female seats, one for the dalit seat and one for the disabled or minority seat. The three open and three female seats are filled by single transferable vote, the two other seats by FPTP.
The election is conducted by the Election Commission.[10]
Duties of National Assembly
The key function of the National Assembly is to review, revise, and pass the legislation passed by the House of Representatives. The lower house focuses on lawmaking, while the upper house helps revise and refine the legislation before it is passed.
Chairpersons and deputy chairpersons
| Name | Party | Took office | Left office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maha Sabha | ||||
| Dambar Bahadur Singh | Nominated by King Mahendra | 20 July 1959 | 15 December 1960 | |
| Parliament of the Kingdom of Nepal | ||||
| Beni Bahadur Karki | Nepali Congress | 30 June 1991 | 13 July 1999 | |
| Mohammad Mohsin | Rastriya Prajatantra Party | 12 August 1999[12] | 26 June 2002 | |
| Federal Parliament of Nepal | ||||
| Ganesh Prasad Timilsina | CPN (Unified Marxist Leninist) | 15 March 2018 | 4 March 2024 | |
| Narayan Prasad Dahal | CPN (Maoist Centre) | 12 March 2024 | Incumbent | |
| Name | Party | Took office | Left office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maha Sabha | ||||
| Kamal Rana | Nominated by King Mahendra | 21 July 1959 | 15 December 1962 | |
| Parliament of the Kingdom of Nepal | ||||
| Aishwarya Lal Pradhananga | Nepali Congress | 4 July 1991 | 30 December 1991 | |
| Dilip Kumar Shahi | Nepali Congress | 20 March 1992 | 26 June 1997 | |
| Chiranjibi Prasad Rijal | Nepali Congress | 27 July 1997 | 27 June 2001 | |
| Ramprit Paswan | CPN (Unified Marxist Leninist) | 10 August 2001 | 24 April 2006 | |
| Federal Parliament of Nepal | ||||
| Shashikala Dahal | CPN (Maoist Centre) | 18 March 2018 | 4 March 2022 | |
| Urmila Aryal | CPN (Maoist Centre) | 6 February 2023 | 28 March 2024[13] | |
| Bimala Ghimire | CPN (Unified Marxist Leninist) | 10 April 2024[14] | Incumbent | |
Current membership
| Party | Parliamentary party leader | Members[15] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nepali Congress | Krishna Prasad Sitaula[16] | 24 | |
| Nepali Communist Party | Beduram Bhusal[17] | 18[a][18] | |
| CPN (UML) | Devendra Dhaal[19] | 11[a] | |
| PSP-Nepal | 2 | ||
| Loktantrik Samajwadi | 1 | ||
| Janamorcha | 1 | ||
| Vacant | 2 | ||
| Total | 59 | ||
Seat distribution
| Province | Seats held | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | Women | Dalit | D/M | |||||
| Koshi | NC | NC | NC | UML | NCP | UML | UML | UML |
| Madhesh | LSP-N | PSP-N | NC | UML | NCP | PSP-N | NC | NC |
| Bagmati | UML | NC | NC | NC | NCP | NC | NCP | NCP |
| Gandaki | NC | NCP | NC | NCP | NC | NCP | NCP | NC |
| Lumbini | NC | NC | NCP | UML | NCP | NC | RJM | NC |
| Karnali | NC | NCP | NC | UML | NC | NCP | NCP | NCP |
| Sudurpashchim | NC | NC | UML | NCP | NCP | NCP | NC | |
| Nominated | NCP | UML | N/a | |||||
Members
| Category | Name | Party | Assumed office | Class | Portfolio & Responsibilities | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Koshi Province | ||||||
| Open | Sunil Bahadur Thapa | Congress | 9 March 2026 | 1 | ||
| Open | Gopal Basnet | Congress | 4 March 2022 | 2 | ||
| Open | Krishna Prasad Sitaula | Congress | 4 March 2024 | 3 |
| |
| Women | Roshni Meche | CPN (UML) | 9 March 2026 | 1 | ||
| Women | Jayanti Rai | NCP | 4 March 2022 | 2 | ||
| Women | Rukmini Koirala | CPN (UML) | 4 March 2024 | 3 | ||
| Dalit | Somannath Portel | CPN (UML) | 9 March 2026 | 1 | ||
| With Disability or Ethnic Minority |
Sonam Gyaljen Sherpa | CPN (UML) | 4 March 2022 | 2 | ||
| Madhesh Province | ||||||
| Open | Mahantha Thakur | Loktantrik Samajwadi | 9 March 2026 | 1 | ||
| Open | Mohammad Khalid | PSP-Nepal | 4 March 2022 | 2 | ||
| Open | Ananda Prasad Dhungana | Congress | 4 March 2024 | 3 | ||
| Women | Rekha Kumari Jha | CPN (UML) | 9 March 2026 | 1 | ||
| Women | Urmila Aryal | NCP | 4 March 2022 | 2 | ||
| Women | Pooja Chaudhary | PSP-Nepal | 4 March 2024 | 3 | ||
| Dalit | Dharmendra Paswan | Congress | 9 March 2026 | 1 | ||
| With Disability or Ethnic Minority |
Ranjit Karna | Congress | 9 March 2026 | 1 | ||
| Bagmati Province | ||||||
| Open | Prem Prasad Dangal | CPN (UML) | 9 March 2026 | 1 | ||
| Open | Krishna Prasad Paudel | Congress | 4 March 2022 | 2 | ||
| Open | Jit Jung Basnet | Congress | 4 March 2024 | 3 | ||
| Women | Gita Devkota | Congress | 9 March 2026 | 1 | ||
| Women | Goma Devi Timilsina | NCP | 4 March 2022 | 2 | ||
| Women | Bishnu Devi Pudasaini | Congress | 4 March 2024 | 3 | ||
| Dalit | Ghanashyam Rijal | NCP | 4 March 2024 | 3 | ||
| With Disability or Ethnic Minority |
Shrikrishna Adhikari | NCP | 4 March 2024 | 3 | ||
| Gandaki Province | ||||||
| Open | Jagat Timilsina | Congress | 9 March 2026 | 1 | ||
| Open | Suresh Ale Magar | NCP | 4 March 2022 | 2 | ||
| Open | Kiran Babu Shrestha | Congress | 4 March 2024 | 3 | ||
| Women | Samjhana Devkota | CPN (UML) | 9 March 2026 | 1 | ||
| Women | Kamala Panta | Congress | 4 March 2022 | 2 | ||
| Women | Manrupa Sharma | NCP | 4 March 2024 | 3 | ||
| Dalit | Bhuwan Sunar | NCP | 4 March 2022 | 2 | ||
| With Disability or Ethnic Minority |
Padma Bahadur Pariyar | Congress | 4 March 2024 | 3 | ||
| Lumbini Province | ||||||
| Open | Chandra Bahadur K.C. | Congress | 9 March 2026 | 1 | ||
| Open | Yubaraj Sharma | Congress | 4 March 2022 | 2 | ||
| Open | Jhakku Prasad Subedi | NCP | 4 March 2024 | 3 | ||
| Women | Ram Kumari Jhakri | CPN (UML) | 9 March 2026 | 1 | ||
| Women | Rajya Laxmi Gaire | NCP | 4 March 2022 | 2 | ||
| Women | Vishnu Kumari Sapkota | Congress | 4 March 2024 | 3 | ||
| Dalit | Tul Prasad Bishwakarma | Janamorcha | 4 March 2022 | 2 | ||
| With Disability or Ethnic Minority |
Basudev Ghimire | Congress | 9 March 2026 | 1 | ||
| Karnali Province | ||||||
| Open | Lalit Jung Shahi | Congress | 9 March 2026 | 1 | ||
| Open | Udaya Bohara | NCP | 4 March 2022 | 2 | ||
| Open | Krishna Bahadur Rokaya | Congress | 4 March 2024 | 3 | ||
| Women | Meena Singh Rakhal | CPN (UML) | 9 March 2026 | 1 | ||
| Women | Durga Gurung | Congress | 4 March 2022 | 2 | ||
| Women | Savitri Malla | NCP | 4 March 2024 | 3 | ||
| Dalit | Bishnu BK | NCP | 4 March 2024 | 3 | ||
| With Disability or Ethnic Minority |
Nara Bahadur Bista | NCP | 4 March 2022 | 2 | ||
| Sudurpashchim Province | ||||||
| Open | Khamma Bahadur Khati | Congress | 9 March 2026 | 1 | ||
| Open | Narayan Dutta Mishra | Congress | 4 March 2022 | 2 | ||
| Open | 3 | |||||
| Women | Lila Kumari Bhandari | CPN (UML) | 9 March 2026 | 1 | ||
| Women | Madan Kumari Shah | NCP | 4 March 2022 | 2 | ||
| Women | Renu Chand | NCP | 4 March 2024 | 3 | ||
| Dalit | Jagat Parki | NCP | 4 March 2022 | 2 | ||
| With Disability or Ethnic Minority |
Narayan Bhatta | Congress | 4 March 2024 | 3 | ||
| Nominated | ||||||
| 1 | ||||||
| Narayan Dahal | NCP | 12 April 2022[20][21] | 2 |
| ||
| Anjan Shakya | CPN (UML) | 18 April 2024[22] | 3 | |||
See also
Explanatory notes
References
- ^ Article 86 (2) Constitution of Nepal
- ^ "NEPAL: parliamentary elections Pratinidhi Sabha, 1991". archive.ipu.org.
- ^ Jivanta Schottli; Subrata K. Mitra; Siegried Wolf (2015). A Political and Economic Dictionary of South Asia. Routledge. p. 258. ISBN 9781135355760.
- ^ a b "The Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, 1959" (PDF). www.constitutionnet.org/vl/item/constitution-kingdom-nepal-1959. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
- ^ a b "The Interim Constitution, 1951". www.couuntrystudies.us. U.S. Library of Congress. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
- ^ "Nepal-Salient Features of the New Constitution" (PDF). www.icwa.in. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 January 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
- ^ "The Panchayat Constitution, 1962". www.countrystudies.us. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
- ^ "The ideology of Nepal's Panchayati Raj" (PDF). www.arizona.openrepository.com. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
- ^ National Assembly Member Election Act, 2018 [राष्ट्रिय सभा सदस्य निर्वाचन ऐन, २०७५] (PDF) (1) (in Nepali). Federal Parliament. 4 July 2018.
- ^ "IFES FAQs on Elections in Nepal: 2018 National Assembly Elections" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-12-02. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
- ^ a b "पूर्व पदाधिकारीहरू". na.parliament.gov.np. Retrieved 2022-11-27.
- ^ "muslim elected chairman of hindu nepals upper house of parliament". ucanews.com.
- ^ "National Assembly Vice-Chair Aryal resigns". kathmandupost.com. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
- ^ "Bimala Ghimire elected National Assembly vice-chair". kathmandupost.com. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
- ^ "Parliamentary Parties". National Assembly, Nepal.
- ^ "सिटौला बने राष्ट्रियसभामा कांग्रेस संसदीय दलको नेता". Online Khabar. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
- ^ "CPN-UML National Assembly Parliamentary Party Appoints New Leadership". english.ratopati.com (in Nepali). Retrieved 2026-01-29.
- ^ https://theannapurnaexpress.com/story/59772/
- ^ "Devendra Dahal appointed UML parliamentary party leader in National Assembly". kathmandupost.com. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
- ^ "Narayan Dahal, Pushpa Kamal's brother, gets the National Assembly membership - OnlineKhabar English News". 2022-04-09. Retrieved 2022-04-09.
- ^ "राष्ट्रिय सभाका मनोनीत सदस्य दाहालले लिए शपथ" (in Nepali). 2022-04-12. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
- ^ "Shakya nominated to National Assembly". kathmandupost.com. Retrieved 2024-06-17.