The first Nepalese Constituent Assembly was a unicameral body of 601 members that served from May 28, 2008, to May 28, 2012. It was formed as a result of the first Constituent Assembly election held on April 10, 2008.Sengupta, Somini. Polls Open in Nepal the Day After Violence Killed 8. The New York Times. 2008-04-10. The Constituent Assembly (CA) was tasked with writing a new constitution,Nepal votes in landmark elections . BBC News. 2008-04-10. and acting as the interim legislature for a term of two years.
240 members were elected in single-seat constituencies, 335 were elected through proportional representation,Vijay, Tarun. Rebirth of Nepal . The Times of India. 2008-04-10. and the remaining 26 seats were reserved for nominated members."Cabinet approves constitutional amendment draft", Nepalnews, June 25, 2008. The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) [CPN (M)]—now re-formed as the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre)—was the largest party in the Constituent Assembly, having won half of the constituency seats and about 30% of proportional representation seats.Mishra, Rabindra. Nepal: The rocky red road . BBC News. 2008-04-22.
The CA declared a republic at its first meeting on May 28, 2008, abolishing the monarchy. In late June 2008, the parties agreed to divide the 26 nominated seats in the CA between nine parties: the CPN (M) was to receive nine of these seats, while the Nepali Congress (NC) and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) [CPN (UML)] (which respectively placed second and third in the election) would each receive five, the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum would receive two, and the Sadbhavana Party, the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party, Janamorcha Nepal, and the Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist) [CPN(M-L)] would each receive one nominated seat."Parties recommend names for 26 CA members", Nepalnews, June 27, 2008.
The CA was unable to draft a new constitution, and was dissolved on May 28, 2012, after its original and extended total tenure of four years. The next Nepalese Constituent Assembly elections initially slated for November 22, 2012 were held a year later on November 19, 2013, after being postponed several times. The Constitution of Nepal was successfully drafted by the 2nd Constituent Assembly and ultimately came into effect on 20 September 2015.
Opening of the Constituent Assembly, declaration of the Republic The official and final list of members elected under the proportional representation (PR) system was released on 8 May 2008; this meant the first meeting of the CA (which has to be held within 21 days of the publication of the final result) would be held before the end of May 2008."Nepali Election Commission releases names of candidates elected under PR system" , Xinhua (People's Daily Online), May 8, 2008. On 12 May 2008, it was announced that the first session of the CA would be held on 28 May 2008."Deadline looms for Nepal's king" , BBC News, May 12, 2008. The members of the CA were sworn in on 27 May 2008."New Nepal assembly sworn in, set to abolish monarchy" , AFP, May 27, 2008.
The composition of Constituent Assembly looked like this:
At the first session of the Constituent Assembly (CA) on 28 May, it voted to declare Nepal a federal democratic republic, thereby abolishing the monarchy. When the CA voted on this motion, of 564 members, 560 voted in favor and four opposed."Nepal becomes a federal democratic republic", Nepalnews, May 28, 2008. Of all the parties represented in the CA, only the Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal (RPP-Nepal) opposed the motion."RPP-Nepal becomes the only party against republic; some lawyers question procedures adopted by CA", Nepalnews, May 29, 2008. Koirala said that Nepal was entering a new era and that "the nation's dream has come true", while celebrations took place in Kathmandu;"Nepal abolishes monarchy" , Al Jazeera, May 29, 2008. May 29 and May 30 were declared to be public holidays by the government."Govt announces two-day public holiday to celebrate republic", Nepalnews, May 28, 2008. The CA also decided that Gyanendra should leave the Narayanhity Palace within 15 days.
Earlier on 28 May, the major parties agreed on the creation of the position of President, while the Prime Minister was to hold executive powers; however, they reached no agreement on exactly what powers the President should have or who should become president, and these deliberations led to a delay in the opening of the CA.Binaj Gurubacharya, "Nepal assembly abolishes monarchy", Associated Press (The Washington Post), May 29, 2008.
On 29 May, the royal standard was removed from Narayanhity Palace and replaced with the national flag. Gyanendra reportedly said on 2 June that he accepted the CA's decision."Ex-King Gyanendra says he accepts CA decision; prepares to leave Narayanhiti" , Nepalnews, June 2, 2008.
Power-sharing discussions Thirteen parties, including the CPN (M), the NC, and the CPN (UML), met at the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction on June 1; no agreement was reached regarding power arrangements. The CPN (M) pressed its demand for both the positions of President and Prime Minister, but the NC and CPN (UML) were unwilling to accept this. The NC wanted these positions to be chosen through a simple majority vote in the Constituent Assembly (CA)."13-party meeting inconclusive", Nepalnews, June 1, 2008.
Addressing a rally in Gorkha district on June 1, Prachanda gave Koirala an ultimatum to present his resignation to the CA within two or three days, warning that if he failed to do so, the Maoist members of the government would resign and the party would lead street protests."Prachanda gives three-day 'ultimatum' to NC to hand over govt's leadership", Nepalnews, June 1, 2008.
After Gyanendra requested that the government make arrangements for his residence on June 1, the government decided on June 4 to give another palace, the Nagarjuna Palace, to Gyanendra."Govt decides to give Nagarjuna palace to ex-King", Nepalnews, June 4, 2008. Also on June 4, Prachanda and Koirala met; at this meeting Prachanda demanded that the government step aside by June 5 and again threatened street protests."Prachanda meets Koirala; renews protest warning", Nepalnews, June 3, 2008. On the same day, the three main parties held a meeting at which they again failed to reach an agreement, but the parties agreed on the need for a few more days and the CPN (M) postponed its deadline for the government to step aside to allow for this period."Three parties agree to buy time; Maoists not to leave the govt", Nepalnews, June 4, 2008.
On June 5, the CPN (M) softened its position, deciding at a meeting of its Central Secretariat that it would not press its claim to the presidency and that it would instead favor having a member of civil society become president. The party expressed continued opposition to a proposal that would allow the Prime Minister to be dismissed by a simple majority vote of the CA."Maoists give up claim for presidency", Nepalnews, June 5, 2008. Despite the Maoist desire to have a neutral figure as president, the NC proposed Koirala for the position."NC, Maoists close to reaching agreement on govt formation", Nepalnews, June 12, 2008.
The CA held its second sitting on June 5; due to the three major parties' deadlock, this sitting was very brief, lasting less than a half hour, and took no major decisions."Second CA meeting ends without major decisions", Nepalnews, June 5, 2008.
On June 11, Gyanendra gave a brief press conference at Narayanhiti, stating his acceptance of the republic and promising cooperation. He also said that he intended to stay in Nepal, asserted that he held no property outside of Nepal, and expressed his hope that he would be allowed to keep his property."Ex-King holds press meet before leaving Narayanhiti; refutes allegations labeled against him; says he won't go into exile" , Nepalnews, June 11, 2008. He left Narayanhiti on the same evening and went to his new residence at Nagarjuna."Ex-King Gyanendra leaves Narayanhiti" , Nepalnews, June 11, 2008.
Shortly after another meeting between Prachanda and Koirala, the CPN (M) ministers announced their resignations and sent a joint resignation letter to Prachanda on June 12."Maoist ministers offer resignation" , Nepalnews, June 12, 2008. According to the CPN (M) Minister for Local Development, Dev Gurung, the purpose of the resignations was to "accelerate the process of formation of a new government and bring an end to the current transitional period". However, some considered the resignations to be a means of increasing pressure on Koirala. The resignations were not immediately submitted to Koirala by the CPN (M), and therefore were not made effective. Gurung said that he expected a coalition government to be formed by June 18."Coalition government by June 18: Minister Gurung", Nepalnews, June 13, 2008.
Also on June 12, CPN (UML) General Secretary Jhala Nath Khanal asserted that a member of his party should become president."UML also stakes claim to presidency", Nepalnews, June 13, 2008. On June 14 he blamed the CPN (M) for the deadlock."Khanal lays blame on the Maoists for delay in govt formation", Nepalnews, June 14, 2008. At a meeting with Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist) (2002) [CPN(M-L)(2002)] General Secretary C. P. Mainali on June 14, Koirala stressed the importance of power-sharing according to the popular mandate and consensus. Mainali expressed the view that the Maoists should be allowed to lead the government, while the post of President should go to someone from the NC and the post of Chairman of the CA should go to someone from the CPN (UML)."Power sharing should be on the basis of people's mandate, says Koirala", Nepalnews, June 14, 2008. Meanwhile, Prachanda rejected the possibility of Koirala becoming president, saying that this would be a "dishonour to the people's mandate"; he also expressed concern that having Koirala as president could cause the development of a separate power center from the government, in addition to noting Koirala's advanced age and health problems. Prachanda said that the President should come from a smaller party rather than from the or the CPN (UML)."Maoist chief rules out Koirala's name from presidential race", Nepalnews, June 15, 2008.
Koirala said on June 15 that he would not "run around pleading" for the presidency."I won't plead before anyone for presidency, says PM", Nepalnews, June 15, 2008. Prachanda, meanwhile, said that he expected the new government to be formed imminently, calling on other parties to support this and warning that anyone contravening the people's mandate would have a "heavy price" to pay."Maoist chief asks parties to help them in formation of govt; warns them of consequences", Nepalnews, June 15, 2008. Another meeting of the three main parties on June 16 ended in continued disagreement on the key issues,"Three parties fail to reach consensus", Nepalnews, June 16, 2008. and the CPN (M) said that it would submit the resignations of its ministers to Koirala if the next meeting on June 17 did not produce an agreement."'CPN-M will pull out of govt if tomorrow's meeting ends in deadlock'", Nepalnews, June 16, 2008.