Legal provisions for representation of minorities and underrepresented
What does the constitution state about the requirements for the representation of minorities and underrepresented? Are women well represented? Do all ethnic groups have mechanisms set in the constitution to ensure their voices are heard? What is the present situation?
Rules for making a PR list in HoR:
- A closed list of at least 10% of total seats and at most the total seats must be submitted.
- 50% of candidates in the list need to be women.
- The list should resemble people from Dalit, Adibasi/Janajati, Tharu, Madhesi, Khas-Arya, Muslim as per the mentioned percentage as far as possible.
- Disadvantaged groups and physically challenged people should also be present in the list as far as possible.
| Ethnicity | Closed List Percentage | Actual Percentage in the population (approx) |
|---|---|---|
| Dalit | 13.8% | 12.62% |
| Adivasi Janajati | 28.7% | 27.29% |
| Khas Arya | 31.2% | 31.25% |
| Madhesi | 15.3% | 15.37% |
| Tharu | 6.6% | 7.7% |
| Muslim | 4.4% | 4.39% |
| Other/Unidentified | 1.39% |
Present Status:
The representation, however, is only for Closed List. It seems that there is no total representation quota ethnicity wise for the whole parliament (except through PR) unlike in the case of women where such a quota exists. (1/3rd of Federal Parliament)
This is the present proportion of total members in HoR+ National Assembly (275+59) which is not very representative of the actual proportion of these ethnic groups in the country. Women constitute around 33.83% of total members of the Federal Parliament.
Through FPTP and PR, the status of elected representatives in HoR is shown below:
It can be seen that most of the people from ethnic groups, other than Khas Arya, have been selected from the PR system. The reservations under the PR system seem to have done their work though. The representation through the PR system is representative of the actual composition of the ethnic groups.
Similar is the case with women:
Election composition of National Assembly
Through Voting
Each province will have following members represented in the National Assembly after being elected from each province(to be voted by Provincial Assembly members + Mayors and Deputy mayors of municipal council + Chairmen and deputy chairmen of Village council inside the Province)
- 3 women (STV, Single Transferable Voting)
- 1 Dalit (FPTP)
- 1 physically challenged or minority group (FPTP)
- 3 members except from the groups listed able (STV, Single Transferable Voting)
Nomination
Three members are appointed, with at least one woman, by the President on the recommendation of the Government of Nepal. That makes 8 * 7 + 3 = 59 members in the NA. There are 21 seats reserved for women through voting and 1 seat reserved through appointment making a total of 22 reserved seats for women in the National Assembly(37.28%). Dalits have been reserved a total of 7 out of 59 seats(11.86%). Minority groups have a reservation but the composition has not been mentioned as the reservation for Physically challenged and minority groups has been combined to be a single reservation.
Reference:
- प्रतिनिधि सभा, Page 15, 32, https://election.gov.np/source/%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%9A%E0%A4%A8%20%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%82%E0%A4%A8/%E0%A5%A7-%E0%A4%90%E0%A4%A8/%E0%A5%AD-%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%A7%E0%A4%BF%20%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%AD%E0%A4%BE%20%E0%A4%B8%E0%A4%A6%E0%A4%B8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%20%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B0%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%9A%E0%A4%A8%20%E0%A4%90%E0%A4%A8%2C%20%E0%A5%A8%E0%A5%A6%E0%A5%AD%E0%A5%AA.pdf
- Paswan, Bhola. "Dalits and women the most under-represented in Parliament" the Record, March 3, 2018, recordnepal.com/dalits-and-women-the-most-under-represented-in-parliament
- "Federal Legislature" Nepal Law Commission, Part-8 Federal Legislature, September 9, 2018, lawcommission.gov.np/en/archives/category/documents/prevailing-law/constitution/constitution-of-nepal