House of Representatives (Nepal)

The House of Representatives (; ) is the lower house of the Federal Parliament of Nepal, with the upper house being the National Assembly. Members of the House of Representatives are elected through a parallel voting system. They hold their seats for five years or until the body is dissolved by the President on the advice of the council of ministers. The house meets in the International Convention Centre in Kathmandu.
The House has 275 members; 165 elected from single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting and 110 elected through proportional electoral system where voters vote for political parties, considering the whole country as a single election constituency. The House of Representatives, unless dissolved, continues to operate for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting. However, in a state of emergency, the term of the House of Representatives may be extended, not exceeding one year in accordance with federal law.
The current House of Representatives was elected in 2017 and its first meeting was held on 5 March 2018. On 20 December 2020, it was dissolved by a Cabinet decision. However, the Supreme Court of Nepal reinstated the House on 22 February 2021.
History.
Parliament of Kingdom of Nepal, 1959–1962.
The 1959 constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, proclaimed on 12 February 1959, first mentions the Pratinidhi Sabha first as follows: "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)."
The 1959 constitution was abrogated on 16 December 1962 when the new Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, 1962 was proclaimed and the parliament of the kingdom became unicameral.
Post-Panchayat, 1990–2002.
The House of Representatives was first provided for by the "Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal 1990", which replaced the former panchayat system of parliament with a bicameral parliament. It consisted of 205 members directly elected from single member constituencies. It had five-year terms, but it could be dissolved by the King on the advice of the Prime Minister before the end of its term.
Dissolution, 2002–2007.
In May 2002, the House of Representatives was dissolved by King Gyanendra on advice of the then prime minister, Sher Bahadur Deuba, in order to hold new elections. Elections could not take place due to the ongoing civil war, which eventually led King Gyanendra to stage a royal coup. Following the democracy movement of 2006, the King reinstated the earlier legislature. On 15 January 2007, the House of Representatives was transformed into an Interim legislature. This consisted of members appointed under an agreement between the Seven Party Alliance and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist).
Federal Parliament of Nepal, 2015–present.
The Constitution of Nepal was drafted by the 2nd Constituent Assembly and the provision for a bicameral legislature was re-adopted. The House of Representatives was to be the lower house of the Federal Parliament of Nepal and the elections for its formation was held in 2017.
Members.
The composition and powers of the house are established by Parts 8 and 9 of the Constitution of Nepal. The qualifications for becoming a member of the House are laid out in Article 87 of the Constitution and House of Representatives Election Act, 2017. Members must be :
In addition to this, no member can be a member of both the House of Representatives and the National Assembly.
Vacation of seat.
The seat of a member of House of Representatives may be considered vacant in the following circumstances:
Current membership.
The most recent House of Representatives elections were held in 2017 and the House first sat on 5 March 2018. It consists of 275 members, representing three parliamentary parties. Three other parties along with one Independent are represented as independents in the House of Representatives after they failed to meet the 3% threshold in proportional representation voting.