Lower house to elect Speaker on Jan 19

KATHMANDU: The House of Representatives has decided to hold an election to elect its Speaker on January 19.

The senior-most member of the House of Representatives, Pashupati Shamsher JBR, who is currently chairing the parliament session until a Speaker and Deputy Speaker are elected, made the announcement on Tuesday.

Rana has appointed Bharat Raj Gautam, the Secretary General of the Federal Parliament Secretariat, as the Election Officer for the upcoming election.

As per the constitution, the election for Speaker and Deputy Speaker must be held within 15 days of the first meeting of the House of Representatives. The lower house held its first meeting on Monday.

Coalition partners CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Center) have agreed to hold the post of Speaker by turns with UML getting the speakership first.