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The Government and Political System in Nepal

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The world’s only Hindu monarchy, Nepal was under a regime of hereditary prime minister until 1951. After a series of political and social upheavals, Nepal changed from a monastic system of government to a parliamentary monarchy, and now to that of a republic. Today’s Nepali government has three main branches, namely: the executive, the legislative and the judiciary.

The executive department is composed of the President, (as the head of state), a Vice President, the Prime Minister (as the head of government, and the Council of Ministers). Currently, the President of Nepal is Dr. Ram Baran Yadav, the Vice President is Parmanand Jha, and the Prime Minister is Madhav Kumar Nepal.

Legislative powers of government are exercised by the parliament composed by the Constituent Assembly of Nepal, with Subash Chandra Nemwang as Chairman, and Purna Kumari Subedi as Vice Chairman. The Nepalese Constituent Assembly, a unicameral body comprising of 601 members was formed in the April 10, 2008 elections. Out of the 601 seats, 240 members were elected in a direct vote, 335 through proportional representation, and the remaining 26 seats were reserved for nominated members.

The Supreme Court of Nepal is composed of the Chief Justice of Nepal, fourteen Justices and ad hoc Judges. The Prime Minister appoints the Chief Justice on the recommendation of the Constitutional Council from among the justices having minimum three years of experience of the Supreme Court. Upon the recommendation of the Judicial Council, the other 14 Justices of the Supreme Court as well as the ad hoc judges are all appointed by the Chief Justice of Nepal. As for the Registrar and other officers of the Court, they are appointed by Government of Nepal under the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission.