Constitutional Crisis in Nepal

Nepal is governed according to the Constitution of Nepal, which came into effect on September 20, 2015, replacing the Interim Constitution of 2007. The Constitution was drafted by the Second Constituent Assembly following the failure of the First Constituent Assembly to produce a constitution in its mandated period

Previous Constitutions

Previous constitutions of Nepal were enacted in 1948, 1951, 1959, 1962, 1990 and 2007.

1. In 1948, the Government of Nepal Act was enacted. Since the mid-nineteenth century, the country had been a monarchy where the prime ministers, from the Rana dynasty, had sweeping control over the affairs of the state. The 1948 document introduced limited democratic elements, but the experiment was not successful due to the misgivings of the Rana rulers to give away power.
2. The revolution of 1951 in Nepal, also referred to as Sat Salko Kranti(“Revolution of 2007 BS”), was a political movement against the direct rule by the Rana dynasty of Nepal. It marks the beginning of the political awakening and democratic movements in Nepal, and resulted in immediate abolition of the institutionalized hereditary Prime Minister system in Nepal.
3. The Interim Government of Nepal Act 1951 was promulgated after the Revolution of 1951 that the end of the Rana period. This text strengthened the authority of the king, and introduced relevant reforms such as the creation of the Supreme Court and the inclusion of fundamental rights and socio-economic goals to be pursued by the state.
4. The CONSTITUTION OF THE KINDOM OF NEPAL, 1959 followed the previously mentioned interim text. Interestingly, despite the establishment of a bicameral parliament, the king continued to hold important powers such as the prerogative to appoint half of the members of the Senate and the suspension of parliament under certain circumstances.
5. In 1962 a new constitution came in to eliminate political parties, and to introduce the so-called panchayat system. In this model, panchayats were councils organized at the local level, presumably to ensure the representation of citizens. However, the king exercised much stronger authority than in the 1959 regime and could modify the constitution or suspend it in case of emergency.
6. In 1990, the first Jana Andolan, brought multi-party democracy back to Nepal. The 1990 People’s Movement  was a multiparty movement in Nepal that brought an end to absolute monarchy and the beginning of constitutional democracy. It also eliminated the Panchayat system. The movement was marked by a unity between the various political parties. Not only did various Communist parties group together in the United Left Front, but they also cooperated with parties such as Nepali Congress. One result of this unity was the formation of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist).
7. The CONSTITUTION OF THE KINGDOM OF NEPAL(1990) lifted the ban on political parties, described a democratic representative system where the authority of the king was curtailed, and enshrined fundamental rights.
8. Again following the second jana-andolan an interim constitution was promulgated in 2005.