Prez okays ordinance to clear way for appointments in state bodies

President Ram Baran Yadav has given his seal of approval to an ordinance to amend laws related to the function, duties and powers of the Constitutional Council.

"The ordinance has been certified in accordance with the Article 88 of the Interim Constitution of Nepal," the President's office said.

The ordinance has now cleared the way for the government to make appointments to positions in key state bodies, which had remained vacant for long.

The government had not been able to make appointments to important constitutional and judicial bodies in the absence of the parliament, which as per the constitution needs to endorse such appointments after a hearing.

The posts of chief commissioners and commissioners of Election Commission, Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority, Public Service Commission, Auditor General, four ambassadors -- including Permanent Representative of Nepal to UN and ambassadors to India, the Maldives and Thailand, have been lying vacant due to the lack of political consensus.

The Baburam Bhattarai government had tried to bring an ordinance to suspend the hearing provision to make the appointments, but the President had rejected it stating that he would not give his nod to any law that is not made through political consensus. nepalnews.com