To understand how a new government works in the Federal Parliament of Nepal, it is important to look at the constitutional rules and parliamentary procedures that guide the legislature. The activities of the House of Representatives of Nepal (HoR) follow the Constitution of Nepal, 2072 and the House of Representatives Rules 2079. This overview explains the parliamentary process in Nepal, including the steps for forming the executive branch.
Formation of the Council of Ministers and Executive Accountability
A new government forms under Article 76 of the constitution. The President formally appoints the Prime Minister according to Article 76. Then, based on the Prime Minister’s recommendation, the President appoints the Council of Ministers. The Council must follow the principle of inclusion and cannot have more than 25 members, including the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers, and Ministers. Once in office, the Prime Minister and Ministers are collectively accountable to the Federal Parliament.
How a parliament session begins
Before the government begins its legislative work, the parliament of Nepal convenes in a session. According to Article 93(1) of the Constitution, the President calls the session of the Federal Parliament within 30 days after the final election results are announced. The parliament does not meet every day, but the Constitution ensures that no more than six months pass between two sessions. During a session, House of Representatives Rule 6 provides that meetings usually begin at 13:00 on days the Speaker schedules, depending on the agenda.
Before beginning any official business, Article 88 requires every Member of Parliament (MP) to take an oath of office. In addition, House of Representatives Rule 4 directs each MP to record their attendance in a register book in the lobby or on an electronic device before taking their seat in the meeting hall. This process ensures an accurate record of attendance.
Election of Parliamentary Leadership and Code of Conduct
The House requires defined leadership, as outlined in Article 91 of the Constitution and House of Representatives Rules 7 and 8. The HoR elects a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker from among its members within 15 days of its first meeting. The eldest member of the House presides over the election where the seat of the Speaker is vacant. Any MP can nominate a candidate for Speaker, and other members must second the nomination. If more than one person is nominated, the House votes, and the candidate with the most votes is elected.
To ensure diversity, the Constitution mandates that:
The Speaker and Deputy Speaker must not belong to the same gender.
They should ideally represent different political parties, but if there are no nominations from different parties for the Speaker and Vice-Speaker, the Constitution allows them to be from the same party.
After the election, House of Representatives Rule 9 requires the Speaker to take the oath of office from the President, and the Deputy Speaker to take their oath from the Speaker. Once in office, all members of the Parliament of Nepal must comply with the Code of Conduct (Chapter 26 of the House rules).
MPs must act with respect, maintain order, and refrain from misusing their right to speak to hinder House proceedings. The Conduct Monitoring Committee, which the Speaker leads and includes up to 12 members, regularly reviews members’ conduct and might recommend disciplinary action if necessary.
Daily Proceedings, Agenda Setting, and MP Proposals
The day-to-day operations of the HoR are organised in the structure so furnished within the federal law to ensure efficiency. If MPs need to add certain topics to be discussed, they cannot simply demand a topic be debated spontaneously; they must provide formal proposals.
The Speaker determines the daily subjects for discussion by organising the actual pending business submitted to the House. According to House of Representatives Rule 12, the Secretary-General prepares a “potential daily agenda” one day prior to the sitting, strictly under the Speaker’s direction. This agenda includes formal submissions, categorised into:
Government business
Bills, motions, or subjects submitted by Ministers.
Non-government business
Formal proposals, bills, or motions submitted by regular MPs.
Variations of Sessions
To ensure MPs have a platform to add topics and propose subjects for debate, House of Representatives Rule 11 prioritises Fridays exclusively for non-government business. Furthermore, to address matters of public importance that fall within the scope of the government’s matter of business, House of Representatives Rule 40 designates the first hour of a parliamentary sitting as the “Question Hour”, allowing MPs to formally question the government. Meanwhile, Chapter 9 of the regulation provides the procedure of questioning the Prime Minister directly upon matters of public importance and the matters that fall within the Prime Minister’s jurisdiction.
The Speaker holds the final authority to decide whether these questions or proposals are admissible based on parliamentary rules of parliament of Nepal.
Conditions for Admissibility of Questions
The law provides specific restrictions on the form and content of questions. A question must meet the following legal conditions to be admissible during the questioning hour of the government.
Fact
It is restricted to seeking specific information or facts on a matter.
Abuse of right
It shall not contain arguments, inferences, ironical expressions, or defamatory statements.
No opinions
It shall not ask for an expression of opinion or the solution of an abstract legal question or a hypothetical proposition.
Sub-judice matters
It shall not relate to any matter currently under consideration by a court of law (sub-judice).
Character and conduct
It shall not relate to the character or conduct of any person except in their official capacity.
Friendly relations
It shall not be discourteous to a friendly foreign country.
National secrets
It shall not seek information about matters that are legally categorised as secret or sensitive to national security.
Length and clarity
It shall not be excessively long and must be clear and meaningful.
Repetition
It shall not be essentially the same as a question that has already been answered during the same session.
Grounds for Dismissal by the Speaker (Rule 48)
The speaker of House of Representative of Nepal holds the final authority to decide on the admissibility of a question. The Speaker might dismiss or reject a question proposal on the following bases.
Violation of rules
If the question violates any of the conditions mentioned in Rule 46.
Abuse of right
If the Speaker finds the question to be an abuse of the right to ask questions or intended to obstruct the proceedings of the House.
Irrelevance
If the question is not relevant to the subject matter of the Ministry to which it is addressed.
Power to reform
The Speaker might, instead of dismissing the question, direct the member to refine or improve the question to bring it in accordance with the rules.
Zero Hour and Special Hour
Zero Hour is a specific period set aside for individual members to raise urgent or contemporary issues to the attention of the House and the government. Each member is typically allotted one minute to speak. It usually takes place at the beginning of the sitting, before the daily agenda is taken up. Members wishing to speak must register their names. According to the regulation, notice for Zero Hour must be submitted to the Secretary between 11:00 and 14:00 on the day of the sitting (unless the Speaker directs otherwise).
Special Hour is a more formal period used for detailed discussions on major national policies, political issues, or significant public grievances within the Parliament of Nepal. Unlike Zero Hour, which is for quick flashes of information, Special Hour allows for a deeper critique of government performance or the presentation of comprehensive arguments on a subject. Time in Special Hour is generally distributed among political parties based on their strength (number of seats) in the House.
Confidential Meetings (Chapter 20)
If a matter involves severe national security or a national crisis, the Prime Minister can request a closed-door session. If the Speaker agrees, the house is cleared, and only authorised members and specific staff might attend. The proceedings and decisions of these confidential meetings are strictly protected, and the Speaker controls how and if any summary is published.
The Legislative Process and Thematic Committees
The primary function of the House of Representative of Nepal (HoR) is lawmaking. In the context of the law, a bill is defined as the draft of a constitution amendment or an Act presented to the Federal Parliament of Nepal. According to Articles 110 and 111 of the Constitution, while general bills can be introduced in either house, Money Bills can only be introduced in the HoR. A bill is considered a Money Bill if it contains provisions concerning all or any of the following matters:
establishing, collecting, modifying, abolishing, or administering taxes;
managing the Federal Consolidated Fund or any other Federal Government Fund, depositing money into these funds, withdrawing or allocating money from these funds, or adjusting the amount of money used or reserved;
regulating how the Government of Nepal borrows funds or provides guarantees, or amending laws regarding any financial obligations made or to be made by the Government of Nepal;
safeguarding funds in the Federal Consolidated Fund, investing such funds, or auditing the Government’s financial records;
matters related to any of the subjects mentioned above.
Additionally, bills concerning finance and security forces can only be introduced as government bills by Ministers.
The HoR forms thematic committees under Article 97 for purposes like:
to ensure that the work of the HoR is consistent, efficient, and open;
to hold the government accountable and answerable to the House by overseeing and evaluating its activities;
to carry out detailed, clause-by-clause reviews of bills introduced by MPs.
Under House of Representatives Regulation Rule 170, the House forms committees (maximum 27 members) to oversee specific government sectors. These include:
finance committee;
international relations and tourism committee;
industry, commerce, labour and consumer interest committee;
law, justice and human rights committee;
agriculture, cooperative and natural resources committee;
women, children and senior citizens committee;
state affairs and good governance committee;
education, health and information technology committee;
public accounts committee;
infrastructure development committee.
The Speaker, with the consent of the House, nominates members to these committees, ensuring the inclusive representation of marginalised groups. These committees operate under strict quorum rules and hold the power to investigate public property misappropriation, monitor government assurances, and hear public complaints.
Various Kinds of Proposals and Their Peculiarities
A distinct feature of parliamentary procedure is the introduction of various formal proposals (motions) that guide the House’s actions, disciplinary measures, and executive oversight. The laws address several peculiar types of proposals.
Vote of no-confidence
MPs can introduce a formal motion to check if the Prime Minister still has the support of most HoR members. One-fourth of all House members can file a written vote of no-confidence against the Prime Minister. However, the law sets clear limits. MPs cannot introduce this motion within the first two years of the Prime Minister's appointment, or within one year after a previous no-confidence vote has failed. When proposing a no-confidence motion, MPs must also suggest the name of another member to become the next Prime Minister.
Impeachment proposal
MPs can introduce an impeachment proposal to remove high-ranking officials such as the President, Vice President, Chief Justice, or heads of constitutional bodies from office for serious violations of the Constitution or major wrongdoing. According to Article 101 and House Rule 157, one-fourth of all House members can start an impeachment motion against these officials. The proposal must go through an 11-member Impeachment Recommendation Committee. When the proposal starts, the official in question is automatically suspended from their duties until the issue is decided. To pass, the proposal needs support from two-thirds of the HoR.
Point of order
This is a procedural motion used during debates. If an MP thinks a parliamentary rule is being broken, they can stand and raise a point of order. This stops the current speaker right away, and the Speaker of the House must decide quickly and finally if the objection is valid.
Suspension and disciplinary proposals
MPs have the right to speak freely under parliamentary privileges (Article 103). However, if an MP breaks rules or causes damage in the hall, the Speaker can propose disciplinary action. If there is a motion to suspend a member, the House must vote on it immediately, without any debate, changes, or delay.
Method of Decision Making and Voting
When a debate ends, the House must make a decision. First, the Speaker formally presents the motion that needs a decision by asking the members. After the Speaker does this, House of Representatives Rule 28 says that no more discussion, changes, or requests to delay are allowed for that motion.
If members challenge the Speaker’s decision after a voice vote, House of Representatives Rule 29 starts the “Division of Votes” process. If at least 28 members stand up to show they disagree, the Speaker must put members into groups: yes, no, and abstain. The Speaker can collect these votes by asking members to say their choice out loud, by having them sign in a register, or by using an electronic voting machine. If the Speaker decides it is not necessary to divide into lobbies to save time, the Speaker can simply ask members who support each option to stand, count them, and then announce the result.
Conclusion
The HoR follows a detailed set of procedures, from the constitutional rules for forming the Council of Ministers to the rules for holding sessions and how the Speaker manages the House. MPs can guide discussions by making formal proposals and are given specific days to bring up issues, helping the House represent what the public wants. Overall, this system shows how a new government works within the Parliament of Nepal according to the Constitution of Nepal and the House of Representatives Rules 2079.
