Outdated ways of the updated Parliament

Parliamentary calendars are imperative in improving the governance of the parliament.

At 10:23 am on January 10, the morning of the second parliamentary meeting, 37 minutes before the scheduled time, my political party informed me that the 11 am meeting had been postponed to 1 pm. My party was informed with less than an hour’s notice.

I had just crossed Purano Baneshwor, with the International Convention Centre (ICC) in my peripheral vision. The last-minute rescheduling meant all my other engagements for the day were affected. My day was divided into tiny chunks of time, within which I could neither compensate for my lost meeting hours nor perform any productive work. Surely, one minor scheduling change shouldn’t be that bad. But it was. It was just the tip of the iceberg.

This might seem like a ‘minor’ issue, that doesn’t warrant so much attention. One might ask, why am I not focusing on solving bigger problems of corruption, or government service delivery? But this is the beginning of the same effort. When government services start realizing the importance of time - everyone’s time, including people who don’t have power, of planning, of figuring out how to implement digital solutions for efficiency, safety and increased productivity, only then we can hope to value a citizen’s time when they go to get their passport, citizenship, register/ renew their businesses or get their exam results. It starts with asking why not, without worrying about looking or being branded as “difficult”.

That is why I feel it is imperative to raise this minor issue that concerns time. In the two days of attending parliamentary sessions, I felt a nagging need to update the way in which we work to make laws. On a positive note, those were also avenues for improvement in both democratic functioning and procedural aspects of the session. I want to propose one solution to strengthen the governance system in the parliament: a parliamentary calendar.

Parliamentary calendars have two clear purposes: identify the agendas and define when a legislative session will begin and how long it will last. Not only is a parliamentary calendar crucial to improving the legislative procedures of the parliament, but it is also foundational to democratic governance.

Parliamentary calendars have been in practice since the twelfth century. Countries such as Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Rwanda, and even international organizations such as European Unions have publicly-accessible parliamentary calendars.

In many countries, the parliamentary calendar sets out the years’ agendas, plans and dates for the sessions. It lays down the dates for national and statutory holidays for a year. It also sets the benchmark for the member of parliament (MP) to achieve things within a timeline, reducing the room for the parliament to be run at the whims of a certain few.

For example, the parliamentary calendar in Australia has dedicated time set out for discussion on petitions, ministerial statements, statements from private member business, question times where the opposition leader gets to ask questions to the members presenting, presentation of papers, specified time for matters of public importance and lunch breaks. The European Parliament has a colour-coded parliamentary calendar to distinguish the meetings between political groups, committee meetings, plenary sessions and work outside the Parliament.

Nepal, unfortunately, has no such parliamentary calendars. In this article, I precisely want to highlight the pressing need for one.

Making parliamentary sessions more democratic

In the ad-hoc system of summoning parliamentary sessions in Nepal, MPs are not made aware of the agendas timely. They don’t have sufficient time to do the necessary research or plan activities before raising the public’s concerns in the parliament. For the public-participatory functioning of the parliament, adopting the calendar is crucial.

A parliamentary calendar allows MPs to set a pre-informed agenda, thereby allocating time to visit the constituencies, conduct town halls and meetings and prepare for the parliamentary sessions. By setting a priority list for the House based on common minimum programs that we aim to achieve within a set timeframe, also allows us to be transparent and accountable to the public. Else we will have to wait for elections to hear what the MPs have worked on. This will ensure that we are always working towards the promises we have made to our constituency. It also allows the public to evaluate the work that the MPs are doing.

Given the parliamentary calendars are publicly accessible, it will enable the public to participate directly in policymaking. Additionally, it informs the public as well of the agendas that will be discussed, encouraging them to form a stance, and also to physically attend the sessions they are interested in.

The term of a house is limited to five years. To accomplish promises made to the electorate in the elections, it is imperative the Parliament delivers its promises within the time frame. What keeps us on track and in check is a parliamentary calendar.

Improving legislative procedures in parliamentary sessions

Once the Parliamentary calendar is set, last-minute rescheduling of parliamentary sessions can be curtailed. The current system that requires an MP to manually sign in on a loose sheet of paper, with no time record, should be changed, with the added information about when an MP leaves the premises. We have biometrics everywhere nowadays, except in the parliament house. By doing so, it is easier to hold each MP accountable for their job. Consequently, the productivity of MPs increases and the legislative procedures are made efficient.

With the parliamentary calendar, we can set strict criteria for any last-minute rescheduling. It sets a deadline and a tone of when certain tasks have to be completed. Moreover, when last-minute changes do need to happen, it allows direct communication to all the MPs and the public simultaneously. Contrary to existing systems of information being passed down within party hierarchies, it makes information transmission quick. Additionally, when the parliamentary calendar is digitized and complemented with a biometric entry and exit system for the House, real-time reporting of the attendance of MPs during each session is possible. Attendance sheets of each MP can be made publicly available, allowing the public greater transparency.

Additionally, a calendar is important in setting lunch recess and breaks in between parliamentary sessions. Similar to any other unhealthy work environment, MPs do not get a set time for a lunch break and are forced to leave the ongoing session for lunch. A pre-scheduled lunchtime would ensure that no one misses any part of the session.

Moreover, given that commuting to the parliament during the peak rush hour is tedious, an alternative tactical solution is to change the timings of the sessions. Instead of the 11 am start of Parliament, we could start the session at 8 am to reduce the peak hour traffic. On setting the parliamentary calendar, traffic data can be consulted beforehand to change the timings of the sessions.

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While the parliamentary calendar seems the panacea to all these problems in the functioning of parliament, I will be honest, there’s a massive limitation to achieving the ideals - “Nepali time.”

We, as Nepalis, don’t value time. Arriving late, delivering late, and begging for extensions are the norm. We may agree on a parliamentary calendar but for true adoption, there needs to be a bigger shift in mindset – it demands that we learn to value time. And not just valuing our own time, but also being respectful of others’ time as well. Changing administrative and bureaucratic tasks may be easy but it is upon all of us, the public and the MPs to lead a greater cultural shift in how to think of ‘time’ as a resource.

The next parliamentary meeting is set for Jan 19. Beyond that, nothing is known. Similar to the last meeting, this may get rescheduled last minute too. The agendas for discussion are not clear. What bills will be tabled? Will we get a lunch break? What are our goals for the next year?

I will raise my concerns in the parliament. Of course, this is given. However, this culture of respecting time needs to be established. Part of establishing a culture is telling stories and reinforcing them. That is why I need the public to not only understand the importance of these changes but also stand together for these changes.

Do we let the status quo continue where few people decide on everyone else’s daily schedule? Should MPs keep waiting for a session to listen to the differently phrased election-time speech? Or, do we start with the parliament house itself to improve the governance and accountability that we need to deliver to the public?