Nepalese Constituent Assembly - Opening of The Constituent Assembly, Declaration of The Republic

Opening of The Constituent Assembly, Declaration of The Republic

The official and final list of members elected under the 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. On 12 May 2008, it was announced that the first session of the CA would be held on 28 May 2008. The members of the CA were sworn in on 27 May 2008.

The composition of CA looked like this:

At the first session of the Constituent Assembly on 28 May, it voted to declare Nepal a federal democratic republic, thereby abolishing the monarchy. 564 members of the Constituent Assembly voted on this motion, with 560 in favor and four opposed. Of all the parties represented in the Constituent Assembly, only the Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal (RPP-Nepal) opposed the motion. Koirala said that Nepal was entering a new era and that "the nation's dream has come true", while celebrations took place in Kathmandu; May 29 and May 30 were declared to be public holidays by the government. The Constituent Assembly 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 Constituent Assembly.

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 Constituent Assembly's decision.

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