3-layer process to address views registered by public

V, JUL 22 - Having completed the public consultation process, the Constituent Assembly will follow a three-layer process to incorporate suggestions put forth by the public and other stakeholders on the preliminary draft of the new constitution.

The feedback collation process ended on Tuesday amid protests by the Madhes-based parties, Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal and some parties outside the CA.

At the first stage, the Political Dialogue and Consensus Committee (PDCC) will try to amend the draft on the basis of reports presented by the Committee on Citizen Relations and Public Opinion Collection. The CCRPOC has been mandated to prepare a comprehensive documentation of the people’s feedback.

Second, the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) will also incorporate the views recorded during nationwide public hearings. Finally, any CA member desiring to register an amendment to the draft bill within one week from the completion of theoretical discussions on the Constitution Bill can do so after a presentation by CDC Chair Krishna Prasad Sitaula.

There is a lengthy process ahead before statute promulgation though some days will be saved as per an understanding among the major parties to fast-track the constitution.

The CCRPOC submits its report to the Assembly, which will forward it to the PDCC next. The PDCC will again revise the draft and submit it to the full House. The CDC will receive the PDCC report thereafter. The CDC will table the constitution draft as a bill in the Assembly which should be endorsed by a two-thirds majority. The CA chair will authenticate the bill while the President unveils it amid a grand ceremony.

The CCRPOC is compiling the suggestions received from people via website, email, fax, direct mail, toll free number and interactions in 240 electoral constituencies under specific parts and articles of the proposed constitution.

“The CA will make efforts to incorporate more and more suggestions from the people. If all of them are not incorporated right now, the parties could go to the people again and change the provisions in the coming days,” said CA Chair Subas Nembang. He added that, despite protests, the opinion collection process was successful overall.

As of Tuesday evening, the CCRPOC has received 17,395 suggestions via website, 5,560 from mail, 2,415 on the toll free number, 973 through fax and 153 as direct mail. The views received during interactions in the electoral constituencies are yet to be analysed.

The CCRPOC is required to present its report on Thursday but the deadline will likely be missed as it takes a couple of days to segregate the data. According to a source at the CA Secretariat, Nembang will provide the committee until Saturday to submit its report. Nembang said the CA would deliver the new constitution by mid-August. Cross-party leaders also said the process would go unhindered.

However, there is pressure on the major parties to mark the boundaries of the states before constitution promulgation. The parties have made an understanding to thrash out the issue while the CA process moves forward. The CPN-UML, however, says taking up the matter now will delay the constitution.