Behind the prolonged absence of heads of House committees

The committees are tasked with holding particular government agencies to account but for a lack of leadership, they have been ineffective.

Following indifference of the parties to electing the chairpersons of the parliamentary committees, Speaker of the House of Representatives on July 5 urged the cross-party top leadership for their prompt election. Prime Minister and CPN (Maoist Centre) chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli had agreed to elect the heads of the committees without delay. However, two weeks after assurance, all the committees of the House and the joint panels of both chambers are still lying vacant. And it is still unclear when they will get their leadership.