The Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers has prepared a draft of the recommendation and has been holding discussion in a closed political and bureaucratic circle, according to a minister who is knowledgeable to the new political development. [break]
Prime Minister´s political advisor Devendra Paudel confirmed the development and said, "The constitutional bodies are being vacant and the prime minister is serious to make appointments. The appointments cannot be made without invoking the president´s power to remove constitutional difficulties."
The Article 155 of the Interim Constitution requires any appointees in constitutional bodies, the Supreme Court and diplomatic missions to face parliamentary hearing. But this provision cannot be implemented because there is no parliament to hold confirmation hearing of appointees at the Supreme Court, constitutional bodies or diplomatic missions.
Paudel said this constitutional hurdles can only be overcome by invoking Article 158 of the Interim Constitution. The provision says: If any difficulty arises in connection with the implementation of this Constitution, the President may on the recommendation of the Council of Ministers, issue any orders to remove such difficulty; and such orders shall have to be ratified by the Legislature Parliament within one month.
"The proposal is being discussed among leaders of the ruling parties. Once there is an agreement on recommending the president to remove constitutional difficulties, the cabinet will decide to ask the president to invoke the constitutional provision very soon," Paudel told Republica about the government move.
As of now, the Election Commission and the Civil Service Commission are without its head while the term of most of its members will end in a few months. Similarly, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) is without commissioners for the past three years and is being run by a secretary. Likewise, the number of Supreme Court justices is also dwindling while Nepal´s missions in New Delhi and the New York have been without ambassadors.
In the meantime, the government has already prepared an ordinance to amend the existing laws on service and term of those to be appointment at constitutional bodies, hoping that the president will act on the government recommendations to remove constitutional difficulties, according to government sources.
"The government will make the recommendation to the president to remove constitutional difficulties after holding consultation with the president," said Paudel.
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