President endorses key ordinance for formation of new government

President Bidya Bhandari on Friday endorsed a key ordinance relating to the election of Upper House members. The move has paved the way for formation of a new government after recent provincial and parliamentary polls.
Nepali Congress and main opposition CPN-UML have been fighting on which voting system to be adopted for the election of the 59 members of Upper House, after the completion of the election.
Without the formation of the Upper House the formation of the bicameral Parliament could not be completed, which was crucial for convening a full parliamentary session which is essential to form a new government, said the Election Commission.
The NC has been advocating for single transferable voting system for the Upper House election, whereas the CPN-UML had been sticking to the majority voting system.
The president had been holding the ordinance for some time due to the dispute between the two major political forces.
Now with the president’s endorsement, the ordinance incorporates a mix voting system.
Under this, 42 out of a total of 59 members will be elected under single transferable voting system while 14 will be elected through majority voting system. The remaining three members are supposed to be appointed by the president.
Under single transferable voting, weightage will be given to the votes casted by the eligible voters to decide the winning candidates.
There are altogether 275 members in the House of Representatives and 138 seats are required to form a majority government.