Nepal to hold first parliament session in March

Nepal's first-ever federal parliamentary meeting will take place early next month, a crucial step towards the implementation of the new Constitution which was adopted in 2015.
The first session of the federal Parliament, made up of the House of Representatives (lower house) and National Assembly (upper house), will beheld on March 5 at the International Convention Centre in New Baneshwor, President Bidya Devi Bhandari's office said in a statement.
President Bhandari summoned the meeting as per Article 93 (1) of the Constitution on March 5. The meeting will be held at the Parliament Building situated at Nayabaneshwar, Kathmandu, it said.

She summoned the meeting on the recommendation of Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, who was sworn in on February 15.
The federal parliament constitutes 275 members, of which 165 are elected directly under the first-past-the-post system while the remaining 110 through the proportional representation system.
The first parliament meeting will be held more than two months after the House of Representatives elections were held.

The election of the new President is scheduled for March 9.
In 2015, when Nepal adopted a new Constitution that split it into seven states, dozens of people were killed in ethnic clashes over territory and rights.

Following the adoption of the Constitution, the ethnic Madhesi group, mostly of Indian-origin, protested for months, saying they were not getting enough territory in one of the provinces and were also facing discrimination.
The polls are said to be a step forward in cementing democracy and providing political stability to Nepal, which has seen 10 prime ministers in as many years.
Oli, 65, had served as deputy prime minister during the then interim government led by Girija Prasad Koirala in 2006 after the successful conclusion of the second Peoples Movement.
Known for his pro-China stance, Oli heads a coalition between his Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist), and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) - which swept the general elections in December.

The elections were seen as the final step in Nepal's transition to a federal democracy following a decade-long civil war till 2006 that claimed more than 16,000 lives.