A writ petition has been filed at the Supreme Court demanding that the ordinance on National Assembly election be authenticated at the earliest. The document forwarded by the government has been pending in the President’s Office for over two months.

Advocate Yagyamani Neupane filed the writ on Thursday demanding a mandamus order to President Bidya Devi Bhandari not to delay authentication of the ordinance.

Petitioner Neupane has also appealed to the court for halting the process to elect the prime minister before forming the National Assembly claiming that the constitution bars the Election Commission from allotting the parties their proportional representation seats on the lower house until 33 percent representation of women is guaranteed in the bicameral federal parliament.

Neupane has also stressed that the President must not take a side and put the ordinance on hold. He has called for a mandamus order to the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers to appoint the provincial chiefs urgently while stopping the government from making political appointments through a certiorari.

Advocate Neupane argues that the President cannot return the ordinance to the Cabinet. The government has also been pressing the President to authenticate the ordinance. Neupane said discussions on the writ would be held on Friday.