Constituent Assembly

Constituent Assembly is the process of drafting the constitution. It is the assembly of elected people’s representatives formed in order to draft the constitution. It is the outcome of the democratic movement. In the process of constituent assembly, there is more participation of people and they have the right to write their constitution by themselves. Thus, the constituent assembly is regarded as a democratic practice for drafting the constitution. There are proportionate representation and involvement of the people of every caste, sex, geographical region, etc. It is also taken as one of the most democratic ways of drafting a constitution. So, it is more trustworthy for the promulgation of the constitution.

Necessity of Constituent Assembly in Nepal

In the history of Nepal, altogether 6 constitutions were promulgated. They were made by a single authority. All of them did not comprehend the sentiments of the people and their aspirations due to which Mass Movement 2062/63 took place and Loktantra was established. After the establishment of Loktantra in Nepal, the constituent assembly was conducted and thus, a constituent assembly was formed. The first Constituent Assembly was unable to introduce constitution because of that the election of second constituent assembly was held in 2070 BS. It was formed to ensure better rights and freedom to the people.

Formation of Nepalese Constituent Assembly

• There were 240 lawmakers elected directly from 240 constituencies.
• 335 members were elected through proportionate election system supposing entire country a constituency.
• 26 members were nominated by the Council of Ministers from among the experts having the contribution of different sectors representing indigenous people.
  
  

Provisions made to form inclusive Constituent Assembly

The following are the provisions made to form the inclusive Constituent Assembly:

• There was the provision to select the candidates in accordance with gender, geographical basis as per the principle of inclusiveness in the direct selection.
• There was the provision of 50% representation of the women from each constituency through the proportionate election system.
• There was the provision of at least \(\frac {1}{3}\) (one-third) compulsory representation of the women in the constituent assembly.
• There was the constitutional provision of the representation of enlisting people from suppressed group, poor peasants, laborer and handicapped category while preparing a list of candidates through proportionate election system.