Kathmandu: President Ram Chandra Paudel has returned the ordinance related to the Constitutional Council to the government for reconsideration.

According to sources at Sheetal Niwas, the decision was made after legal consultation, concluding that the ordinance requires review in line with the spirit of the Constitution.

The President has maintained that the constitutional principle of majority rule must not be undermined by any law. The ordinance introduced by the government proposed that decisions in the six-member Constitutional Council could be made by just three members, a provision deemed unacceptable by President Paudel.

The Constitutional Council, chaired by the Prime Minister, includes the Chief Justice, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chairperson of the National Assembly, Leader of the Opposition, and Deputy Speaker as members.

Under the existing law, a quorum of at least four members, including the chair, is required for a meeting to take place. However, the proposed ordinance sought to lower the quorum in certain situations, allowing meetings and decisions to proceed with only two or three members, including the chair.

President Paudel has argued that such provisions contradict constitutional values and democratic norms, warning that they could weaken the principles of separation of powers, checks and balances, and increase the risk of arbitrary decision-making.

He also emphasized that decisions of the Constitutional Council should, as far as possible, be based on consensus.

Of the eight ordinances submitted by the government, seven have already been authenticated by the President. The ordinance related to the Constitutional Council is the only one returned for reconsideration.