KATHMANDU: Former Chief Justice and former Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Khil Raj Regmi, has urged the constitutional amendment task force—coordinated by Prime Minister Balendra Shah’s political advisor, Asim Shah—to maintain the basic structure, preamble, and current religious provisions of the Constitution while focusing on governance stability.

Warning against rushed decisions regarding an executive presidency that could lead to authoritarianism, Regmi proposed practical reforms, including reducing the vote of no-confidence restriction from two years to six months and cutting proportional representation seats to 60 to prevent political distortions.

To boost youth participation, he suggested lowering the minimum age for House of Representatives candidates to 21 years while keeping the National Assembly age limit at 30.

Furthermore, Regmi recommended merging thematic commissions under a strong National Human Rights Commission to cut administrative costs, introducing special development provisions for Karnali and Madhesh provinces, and establishing strict budget guarantees for ongoing development projects.

To ensure judicial accountability, he proposed that an independent disciplinary committee chaired by a former Prime Minister handle actions against judges, leading coordinator Asim Shah to commit to incorporating these guiding recommendations into the upcoming amendment discussion paper.