Kathmandu: Newly elected members of Nepal’s House of Representatives have been sworn into office paving the way for the appointment of a new prime minister on Friday.

The oath taking ceremony was administered by senior lawmaker Arjun Narasingha KC. Before the ceremony, Parliament Secretary General Padma Prasad Pandey welcomed the members and said the election results had already been submitted to President Ram Chandra Poudel earlier this month.

Officials said the Parliament building in Baneshwor was damaged during recent protests and as a new building is not yet ready, proceedings are being held in a temporarily prepared hall.

Under Nepal’s constitution, lawmakers must take the oath before attending their first parliamentary meeting which made Thursday’s ceremony mandatory.

Earlier, senior member KC had taken his own oath from President Poudel at Sheetal Niwas on Wednesday.

During the ceremony, lawmakers pledged loyalty to the country and its people and committed to carrying out their duties honestly, without fear or bias, in line with the constitution.

Meanwhile, Balen Shah has been chosen as the parliamentary party leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party which secured a strong majority in the recent elections. He is set to be sworn in as Nepal’s prime minister on Friday.