Three months after elections, the first meeting of the federal parliament commenced on Monday with both the Houses endorsing their interim rules of procedure.

Oldest members Mahantha Thakur and Tara Devi Bhatta chaired the first meeting of the House of Representatives and the National Assembly, respectively, where they read out the letter sent by the President. The letters also notified the members about appointment of KP Sharma Oli as the prime minister. President Bidya Devi Bhandari has summoned the meetings on February 19.

The first meeting also named lawmakers—CPN-UML member Khagaraj Adhikari, Laxman Lal Karna of the Rastriya Janata Party, Nepal and Uma Shankar Aragariya of the Nepali Congress, who will chair the HoR meeting in the absence of Yadav, according to the interim rules of procedure. In the Upper House, Parshuram Meghi Gurung of the UML, Radheshyam Adhikari of the NC and Kali Bahadur Malla of the CPN (Maoist Centre) will chair meetings in the absence of Bhatta.

Newly elected federal parliament members took the oath of office on Sunday. Nine parties and one independent lawmaker have representation in the 275-strong HoR. The largest party UML has 121 members, Congress has 63 while the Maoist Centre has 53 MPs. The RJP-N and the Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum-Nepal have 17 and 16 representatives besides four fringe parties.

The UML has 27 seats in the 59-member Assembly. The Congress has 13 members and the Maoists 12 in the NA while the two Madhes-based parties have two lawmakers each. Three members nominated by the President on the government’s recommendation have yet to be sworn in.