Kathmandu [Nepal], February 12 (ANI): Nepal Election Commission on Sunday announced that a by-election in Chitwan-2 constituency for the House of Representatives will be held on April 23.

The decision of the Nepal Election Commission comes as the constituency has remained vacant after the annulation of citizenship of the then Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane, who won the 2022 general election. The seat has remained vacant since the court's decision in January.

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After the verdict, Rabi Lamichhane acquired Nepal citizenship. However, Lamichhane is still unfit to contest in the elections as he is under investigation.

Lamichhane is still under investigation in the case of misuse of his passport after he is found to be holding dual passports of the United States and Nepal. The Nepal Election Commission also made the election schedule public. According to the Election Commission's announcement, the voter list shall be finalised by March 30 and the candidates will file their nominations on April 3.

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On January 27, Nepal's Supreme Court disqualified the country's Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane from his posts after he was found guilty of producing an 'invalid' citizenship certificate to contest the recent general elections. The minister tendered his resignation to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda after the apex court's decision.

The verdict was pronounced by a Constitutional Bench of the Nepal SC headed by Acting Chief Justice Hari Krishna Karki. The other judges on the bench were Justices Bishowambhar Prasad Shrestha, Ishwar Khatiwada, Ananda Mohan Bhattarai and Anil Sinha.

"As Rabi Lamichhane has not completed the process for reacquiring his Nepali citizenship after renouncing his American citizenship, he cannot be a candidate for the position of a member of the House of Representatives or be elected to that position," read the Supreme Court verdict on Friday.

"After giving up the US citizenship, Lamichhane was not found adhering to the legal process to acquire Nepali citizenship again. So, he did not deserve to be the candidate of the member of the House of Representatives nor could hold the lawmaker's post," the Bench ruled further. (ANI)

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