Nepal to hold PM's election Feb 10

Kathmandu, Feb 4 (IANS) More than two-and-half months after polling for a new Constituent Assembly, Nepal's legislative-parliament will Monday endeavour to elect a new prime minister following failure of several bids to install a consensus government.

Earlier, a seven-day deadline given by President Ram Baran Yadav to install a consensus-based government with the support of all 30 political parties represented in the legislative-parliament expired Sunday.

After several bids to elect a consensus-based prime minister according to the constitutional provision failed, President Yadav Monday instructed Nepal's parliament to elect the new prime minister through a majority vote.

According to the constitutional mandate, the formation of the consensus-based government would be given first priority. If all attempts fail to install such a government, the only option remaining will be for a majority-based government through voting in parliament.

The prime minister hopeful under the consensus-based system should not go for voting in parliament while the prime ministerial candidate contesting under the majority-based system should be voted in the house under a unique constitutional provision being practised here since 2008.

A meeting of parliament's business advisory committee Tuesday decided to hold the election for the post next Monday at 11 a.m., said parliament spokesperson Mukunda Sharma.

As of now, Sushil Koirala, president of the Nepali Congress (NC), the largest party in Nepal's parliament and leader of the party's parliamentary group, is the sole candidate laying claim to the post.

The NC has 194 members among the 575 elected seats and needs strong support from the second largest party, Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) to win its bid in the 601-seat house.

The second largest party, the CPN-UML, has not so far staked claim to the prime minister's post. The party is electing its parliamentary party leader on Tuesday evening and the future course will be decided after the elections, said CPN-UML party leaders.