Chairman of 10 of the 12 parliamentary committees will be elected unanimously after each committee saw just one nomination filed on Thursday. The House of Representatives (HoR) meeting on Friday will announce them elected unanimously.
The majority of committees will now be headed by women.
Shashi Shrestha of the ruling Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) is the only candidate for chairman of the
State Affairs Committee. She was recently transferred from the Law, Justice and Human Rights Committee to be granted leadership of the
State Affairs Committee. Similarly, CPN's Niru Pal was the only lawmaker to file nominations for the Women, Children, Senior Citizen and Social Welfare Committee. She was also recently transferred from the Development Committee.
CPN's Jayapuri Gharti, who has also been recently transferred from the Industry, Commerce and Consumer Welfare Committee, has filed candidacy for the Education and Health Committee
. Former deputy speaker Purna Kumari Subedi, also from CPN, is also the sole candidate for the Agriculture, Cooperatives and Natural Resources Committee.
Pabitra Niraula Khanal, similarly, is the only candidate for the International Relations and Labor Committee and Kalyani Kumari Khadka for the Development Committee.
Krishna Prasad Dahal and Krishna Bhakta Pokharel are the only male candidates from CPN with the former filing nominations for Finance Committee and the latter for Law, Justice and Human Rights Committee
.
Bimal Srivastav of the Federal Socialist Forum Nepal (FSFN)
is the only candidate for the Industry, Commerce and Consumer Welfare Committee. Bharata Kumar Shah of the main opposition party Nepali Congress (NC) has filed nominations for the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
The joint committee of the House of Representatives (HoR) and National Assembly to monitor and evaluate implementation of the directive principles, policies and responsibilities of the state, and the Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee, which is also a joint committee, will remain the only committees without a chairman.
CPN has decided to make Nira Devi Jairu the chairman of the former and Laxman Lal Karna of Rastriya Janata Party Nepal (RJP), who has been heading the Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee as the oldest member, will get to chair the committee.
The chairmen of parliamentary committees get perks and benefits on par with a state minister including a vehicle, secretariat and security.
