Nepal's first Parliament session after PM Prachanda's win begins today

Nepal's first Parliament session after the appointment of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' will begin today, with the focus on elections of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker

Nepal's first Parliament session after the appointment of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' will begin here on Monday, with the focus on elections of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.

The session will also focus on Prime Minister Prachanda's vote of confidence.

The first meeting will be chaired by the senior-most member of the House, Pashupati Shamsher JB Rana, according to The Rising Nepal newspaper.

As per the call of President Bidya Devi Bhandari, the meeting of both the Houses will began at 1 pm on Monday, the report said.

Top leaders of the major political parties will address the first meeting of the House of Representatives (HoR), which is scheduled to take place at the Parliament Building here.

Last month, Nepal President Bhandari called the first session of the new Parliament on January 9 after the country went to polls on November 20.

Prachanda, the 68-year-old CPN-Maoist Centre leader was sworn in as the Prime Minister for the third time on December 26 last year after he dramatically walked out of the pre-poll alliance led by the Nepali Congress and joined hands with opposition leader K P Sharma Oli.

He was appointed as the prime minister as per Article 76 clause 2 of the Constitution with the support of 169 HoR members.

A prime minister appointed through such provision is required to seek a vote of confidence within 30 days of his or her appointment.

After Prachanda's vote of confidence, the process of electing the Speaker and Deputy Speaker will get underway, the report said.

According to constitutional provisions, the Speaker and Deputy Speaker should be elected within 15 days of the first parliamentary meeting.

Prime Minster Prachanda needs 138 votes for a clear majority in the House.

He has the support of seven parties, including Oli's Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist (CPN-UML) and the newly-formed Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP).