CPN (UML) lawmaker Devraj Ghimire has been elected as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the federal parliament.
Ghimire, a common candidate fielded by the ruling coalition, has received 167 votes.
His rival Ishwari Neupane, another candidate for the post fielded by Nepali Congress, obtained 100 votes.
A total of 268 lawmakers cast their votes in the elections. “Of the 268 lawmakers present in the HoR meeting, Ghimire has been elected as the Speaker with a majority of votes,” announced senior lawmaker Pashupati Shumsher Rana.
Newly elected Speaker Ghimire had been a lawmaker of the National Assembly in 2056 BS.
A UML Standing Committee member, Ghimire was elected as a Member of the Parliament (MP) to the House of Representatives from Jhapa-2.
The lawmakers including 77 from UML, 32 from CPN (Maoist Center), 20 from Rastriya Swatantra Party, 14 from Rastriya Prajatantra Party, 12 from Janata Samajbadi Party, six from Janamat Party and four from Nagarik Unmukti Party voted for Ghimire.
Similarly, 88 lawmakers from Nepali Congress, 10 from CPN (Unified Socialist) voted for Neupane while four lawmakers abstained from voting.
Who is Devraj Ghimire?
Devraj Ghimire has become the 9th speaker in Nepal's parliamentary history. Ghimire was elected Member of House of Representatives in the November 20 election from Jhapa, constituency 2.
Born in 2013 BS, Ghimire, in course of his bachelor-level study at Trichandra Campus in Kathmandu, was involved in Nepal Communist Party's institutional expansion as a full-time cadre, while deciding to boycott what he called- "bourgeois education".
After the Jhapa Uprising that lasted from 2027 to 2030 BS, Ghimire came in contact with the Communist Party of Nepal.
In 2047 BS, following the merger of CPN-ML and CPN-Marxist to form CPN-UML, he became a central member through the fifth general convention of CPN-UML held in 2049 BS.
Ghimire, who was elected as a member of the National Assembly in 2056 BS, is also a standing committee member of the CPN (UML) and in-charge of Province 1.
With Ghimire's appointment as Speaker, he will now conduct the meeting of the House of Representatives.
The lower house of the Federal Parliament, the House of Representatives, will formulate laws necessary for the country to guide the process of government operation.
This is both an opportunity and a challenge for the elected speaker Ghimire. It is a challenge to be able to earn the trust of all the parties represented in the parliament while maintaining administrative neutrality, and addressing the majority of votes in the parliament.
Likewise, the speaker has an important role in the presentation of bills, so he has the authority to decide which bill should be presented, who will be allowed to vote, and how much priority should be given to which agenda.
The speaker has to play a balanced role in that.
On top of that, the role played by the speaker in course of balancing power between the parties will determine the future fate of Speaker Devraj Ghimire.
