Kathmandu, Nepal, March 21, 2023: Coinciding to the already scheduled date to hold a by-election in Chitwan-2 on April 23, 2023, the Election Commission (EC) has announced the by-elections in Tanahun-1 and Bara-2 on the same date as well.
A meeting of the EC held on Monday decided to this effect. The seats remain vacant after Ram Chandra Poudel and Ram Sahay Yadav were elected in the post of President and Vice President respectively.
Nepali Congress’s candidate Poudel was elected from Tanahun-1 while Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) Nepal candidate Yadav was elected from Bara-2 as the members of the House of Representatives (HoR).
The EC had already decided to hold the by-election for the vacant seat in Chitwan-2 on April 23. The constituency remains vacant after Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) President Rabi Lamichhane, who was elected from the constituency as the HoR member, lost his HoR member status after the Supreme Court (SC), the apex court of the country, invalidated his citizenship.
The SC had stripped Lamichhane’s HoR membership on January 27 concluding that he used his old invalid citizenship to contest the elections without re-applying for a new one after renouncing his American citizenship.
With the verdict, Lamichhane had not only lost his HoR member position but also post the post of Deputy Prime Minister and minister for Home Affairs along with the party presidency. However, he has already reacquired new the Nepali citizenship by following the due procedures. He was reappointed in the post of party president.
With the announcement of date for by elections, the EC has also made public the election schedule. According to the election schedule published by the EC, final voter lists will be published on March 30, office of the election officer will be set up on April 1, nominations of candidates will be registered on April 3 and the final list of candidates will be published on April 6.
The scheduled election is being held as per Article 84 (7) of the Constitution of Nepal that states as ‘in case the seat of any member of the HoR remains vacant while its term still remains for more than six months, the vacancy should be fulfilled by conducting a by election.
