Nepal amendment bill fails in lack of two-third majority

Kathmandu [Nepal], August 21 (ANI): The parliamentary voting over the amendment bill presented long ago in the Nepal parliament has failed to garner two-third majority to get it endorsed.

The new constitution amendment bill which had the provision of solving the issues regarding the delineation by establishing a separate commission was turned down by the opposition lawmakers who voted in against.

The failed amendment bill on Monday garnered 347 votes, while 206 voted against the bill, out of the 553 votes of the lawmakers who were present in the parliamentary meeting of Monday.

The voting over the second amendment bill was presented in the parliament in order to appease the disgruntled parties of restive southern plains of Nepal and bring them on board over the final phase of local polls which are scheduled for next month.

The agitating parties are now under a single party, the RJP-N (Rastriya Janata Party- Nepal), which has agreed to accept the results of the voting over the amendment bill and promised to participate in the electoral process.

The parliament of Nepal has a total of 601 lawmakers but the numbers of working lawmakers are only 593. In Monday's voting, 40 of the lawmakers abstained and it was less by 41 votes, which the Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba had secured at the time of being elected three months ago.

At the time of Prime Ministerial Election, 558 lawmakers were present which five lawmakers were more than that of now, but the split in the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) resulted in the reduction of 19 votes as the lawmakers under the party voted against the amendment bill.