In Nepal, the Speaker of the parliament Mr. Subhash Nemwang has said he will hold consultations with the leaders of major political parties to find a way out to end political deadlock caused by fruitless rounds of voting to elect a new Prime Minister.Talking to newsmen at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on Monday on his return from Canada, Mr. Nemwang said the political parties can find a way out to end the continuing uncertainty in government formation by amending the constitutional provision on the present process of Prime Ministerial election through consensus. He added that he cannot intervene to interrupt the ongoing process of voting to elect the new Prime Minister.According to Nepal's unique constitutional provision, the present round of voting to elect a new Prime Minister will continue until the lone Nepali Congress candidate withdraws from the electoral race or a new Prime Minister is elected through this process. The 13th round of voting to elect a new Prime Minister is scheduled to be held on Tuesday.Nepal is in the process of electing a new Prime Minister since July 21 this year following the resignation of Mr. Madhav Kumar Nepal from the post in June under pressure from the Maoists. So far 12 rounds of voting failed to elect a new Prime Minister and the 13th round of voting is scheduled to be held on Tuesday.While CPN(UML) candidate Jhalanath Khanal withdrew from the electoral race in the first round of voting, Unified CPN(Maoist) Chairman Prachanda withdrew from the electoral field after seven failed attempts, leaving only Ram Chandra Poudel of the Nepali Congress in the electoral race.The continuous abstention of CPN(UML) and the Terai based parties and other small parties from the voting process has led to repeated failure in electing a new Prime Minister.The opposition Maoists and CPN(UML) have urged the Nepali Congress to withdraw from the electoral race, but the party has refused to do so until the major parties make a firm commitment on ending the peace process and drafting of the new constitution.The country is without an effective government since last four months.
News On AIR | October 25, 2010 1:02 PM
Nepal Speaker to consult with political leaders to resolve PM’s election issue