of the Electoral Rolls Act, 2006 has stipulated that the following documents apart from the citizenship certificate may be considered or sought for the registration of names in the voters’ roll if required: Nepali citizenship certificate. Article 65(a) of the Interim Constitution of Nepal, 2007 lays down that one has to be a Nepali citizen to become a member of Constituent Assembly. Nepali citizen refers to the Nepali citizen who has met the qualifications prescribed in Chapter 2 of the Constitution. Chapter 2 has laid down the criteria of eligibility for being a Nepali citizen. One who has acquired the qualifications of Chapter 2 is also qualified to become a Nepali citizen. In other words, the proof of being a Nepali citizen is the person who has obtained certificate as per the Nepal Citizenship Act, 2006 which is framed for the purpose of Chapter 2 of the Constitution and the Schedule of the rules framed thereunder. a) Land ownership certificate or b) Identity cards issued by government offices, local bodies, government owned corporations and educational institutions. 3. Similarly, Section 11(2) provides that in case one cannot submit the above particulars, names may be registered in the Electoral Rolls also upon the recommendation of the Village Development Committee or the concerned Ward of the Municipality. Moreover, the proviso to the Sub-section (3) has categorically mentioned that the names may be registered in the Electoral Rolls even if someone fails to submit his or her citizenship certificate. Only the citizens are entitled to the right to vote and the right to contest as a candidate in the election of Constituent Assembly, Parliament and local bodies. Even if someone has been domiciled in Nepal for long, the proof of his/ her identification as a Nepali citizen is the citizenship certificate itself. The right to vote and the right to contest as a candidate in the election of Constituent Assembly, Parliament and local bodies both are political rights in nature. Political rights are provided only to citizens of a country. In this context, it is worthwhile to mention the main provision of Article 25 and its Clauses (a) and (b) of the ICCPR, 1966 to which Nepal is a party and which applies as good as the law of Nepal: 5. Every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity, without any of the distinctions m e n t i o n e d i n Ar t i c l e 2 a n d w i t h o u t unreasonable restrictions: (a) To take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives; (b) To vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections, this shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors. Article 25 of the ICCPR is an article to exercises political right. It is an evident provision that the political right mentioned in that article is conferred only to the citizens. 4. Now while considering the subject of the issues espoused in the present writ petition, the issue is that for becoming the member of Constituent Assembly, a person must be certified as Nepali citizen by obtaining Out of the 5 qualifications set forth in the Article 65 for becoming a member of Constituent Assembly; (a) requires that the first qualification is that one has to be a Nepali citizen. This infers that though a person may have domiciled in Nepal for a long time and his or her lex domicil may be Nepal, he or she cannot stand as a candidate for the member of the Constituent Assembly in case he or she has not obtained the citizenship certificate duly issued by the official authorized by law. Only a person who has obtained Nepali citizenship certificate shall be eligible to for becoming a candidate and voter. Article 63 provides for the constitution of Constituent Assembly. The Constituent Assembly constituted pursuant to the Article 63 shall draft a Constitution as well as act as a legislature parliament. Pursuant to Articles 38 and 39, the members of Constituent Assembly form a council of ministers which exercises the executive power pursuant to Article 37. The Constituent Assembly also formulates laws in the capacity of legislature, approves the budget, conducts confirmation hearing of the appointees to the Constitutional bodies pursuant to Article 155 as well as ratifies the treaties or agreements to which Government of Nepal is a party, pursuant to Article 156. Any State can grant these exclusive political rights only to its citizens. There is remarkable difference between a resident and a citizen. A citizen has an allegiance towards his or her nation which is characterized by the oath he or she takes while obtaining citizenship. However, a person qualified to obtain a citizenship but has not obtained it does not take such an oath of allegiance. For this very reason, Article 25 (a) (b) (c) of the ICCPR has laid down that one has to be a citizen first to enjoy the rights of political nature. 35 Compilation of Selected Decisions of Supreme Court on CITIZENSHIP and BIRTH REGISTRATION