Nepal’s second Constituent Assembly gets under way

Kathmandu: More than two months after the Nov 19 elections to Nepal’s second Constituent Assembly, the new lawmakers were Tuesday administered oath by senior-most member Surya Bahadur Thapa.
A total 575 lawmakers — elected directly under the first-past-the-post system and selected as per the proportional representative electoral system — took the oath from Thapa, a former prime minister.
Security was tight since Monday evening around the International Convention Centre here, housing the Constituent Assembly building, in the wake of a threat by some political parties — who boycotted the Nov 19 poll — to prevent the newly-elected lawmakers from taking oath.
Extensive internal security too was in place inside the assembly hall.
The Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M), a breakaway faction of the United Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M), is leading a 33-party alliance that had warned that it would disturb the first sitting and inaugural session of the assembly. (IANS)