Parliamentary Committee Leadership Election Set for August 28

The leadership of parliamentary committees is finally set to be determined on August 28, marking a significant step more than eight months after the House of Representatives election.

Speaker Dev Raj Ghimire, after convening a Business Advisory Committee meeting, has scheduled the leadership election for the House committees at 1 am on August 28, as confirmed by Shekhar Adhikari, the press advisor to Speaker Ghimire.

Despite the formation of committees five months after the election, a consensus on their leadership has remained elusive among political parties. Consequently, the oldest members have been temporarily appointed as chairs of these committees.

The House of Representatives comprises 10 thematic committees: Finance; International Relations and Tourism; Industry, Commerce, Labour, and Consumer Interest; Law, Justice, and Human Rights; Agriculture, Cooperative, and Natural Resources; Women and Social; State Affairs and Good Governance; Development and Technology; Education and Health; and Public Accounts. Additionally, two joint committees of the National Assembly and the House of Representatives include the State Direction Principle, Rules, and Responsibility Committee, and the Public Hearing Committee.

The prolonged absence of appointed chairs has hindered effective discussions on crucial Bills within these committees. However, a recent breakthrough indicates that parties have come to an understanding regarding the allocation of committee chairs. As per the agreement, the Nepali Congress is poised to take the helm of four committees, while UML will oversee three, and CPN (Maoist Center) will lead two. The Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) and CPN (Unified Socialist) are each set to chair one committee, cementing a collaborative approach moving forward.