Nepal President stresses economy push in last joint parliamentary address

Kathmandu [Nepal], February 10 : With less than a month left for the presidential polls as the second term coming to an end, incumbent Nepali President Bidhya Devi Bhandari addressed the last joint parliament session of her tenure on Friday, stressing the need to continue the economic growth to progress further.
Addressing the joint session of the newly elected parliament on Friday, Bhandari said, "The economic condition of the nation is at a complicated turn and we all know about it and are worried. We cannot achieve success until we find immediate, short and long-term solutions. Though silver linings are seen in the economic situation we are not in a condition where we can be assured about it would go in the long run. The problem of monetary liquidity, lack of enough resources for investments, and some external reasons have made the production sector weaker. With the debilitated economic progress, increasing inflation, and widening international trade deficit, we should be serious about enhancing the capacity of the production sector to address the situation thus created".
Bhandari addressed the joint meeting of both houses of the Federal Parliament as per Article 95 of the Constitution of Nepal. Article 95 of the Nepal Constitution states that the President may address a meeting of any House of the Federal Parliament or a joint meeting of both Houses and call for the presence of members.
The first session of the House of Representatives, which was formed after the election of the members of the House of Representatives and the Provincial Assembly on November 20, 2022, is currently underway.
It would be the last address to the joint session of parliament by the President as she is soon to retire next month. Bhandari has served two terms as President, which lasted for about 7 years.
As per the Constitution of Nepal, a person can only be president for two continuous tenures. The Election Commission announced the details for the Presidential election on January 30 this year. It is scheduled to be held on March 9.
As per the election schedule made public by the EC, the list of voters for the Presidential election would be published on February 22 while two days' time have been allocated to lodge a complaint or protest over the name. On February 23 and 24, the EC will investigate the complaints and protest notices. On February 24, the final electoral roll will be published.
As per the Election Commission, nominations for President need to be filed on February 25 and the list of candidates will be published on the same day. The following day has been allocated to lodge complaints and objection over the candidacy while an investigation would be conducted on the complaints on the next two days -- February 26 and 27.
The poll body has planned to publish the final list of candidates on February 27.
The candidates can withdraw their names from the fray by February 28, and a final list of candidates would be published on the same day. The voting would take place on March 9, this year.