The House of Representatives is set to elect the deputy Speaker on Friday.

Speaker Agni Sapkota announced the schedule for the election at Wednesday’s meeting of the House.

“The election for the deputy Speaker’s position will be held on Friday,” announced Sapkota.

He also directed Gopal Nath Yogi, secretary at the lower house, to publish a detailed schedule of the election.

The deputy Speaker post has been vacant ever since the resignation of Shiva Maya Tumbahangphe in January 2020.

The House is getting the deputy Speaker just a few months before its term expires.

The Election Commission has already proposed the elections of the House of Representatives for November 18 though the government is yet to announce the date.

Tumbahangphe had to resign to pave the way for the election of the Speaker which was vacant following the resignation of Krishna Bahadur Mahara after rape allegations.

Sapkota was elected as the Speaker to replace Mahara in January 2020. At that time, Sapkota, a Maoist leader, represented the Nepal Communist Party, which was formed in May 2018 after a merger between CPN (Maoist Centre) and CPN-UML.

Tumbahangphe was forced to resign because Article 91 of the constitution says that the Speaker and the deputy Speaker can’t come from the same party.

Along with the deputy Speaker the position of the vice chair of the National Assembly too remains vacant now.