Kathmandu. The 19th session of the National Assembly has begun in Kathmandu today. NA Chairman Narayan Prasad Dahal announced the commencement of the session and welcomed the NA members.

He read out a letter received from the Office of the President regarding the summoning of the session. Thereafter, silence was observed as a mark of respect to the martyrs who contributed to democracy. The meeting also passed a condolence resolution on the demise of NA member Baldev Bohara. Born in 2008 BS, Bohara of Kanchanpur died on January 30. He was elected to the Constituent Assembly in 2070 BS and to the National Assembly in 2080 BS.

The 59-member National Assembly is the permanent house. Experienced and enlightened people from different walks of life participate in this assembly. The term of the members of the National Assembly is six years. The term of one-third of the members of the assembly expires every two years.

The Upper House has 25 members from the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP), 16 from the Nepali Congress, nine from the CPN-UML, three from the Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP), one from the Loktantrik Samajbadi Party (LSP), one from the Rastriya Janamorcha and three nominated members. The election is taking place on January 24 to elect 19 new members. The next meeting of the National Assembly will be held at 1:15 pm on January 22.