Nepal parties reach accord on forming Govt

After weeks of wrangling, Nepal’s main parties have signed a deal that will allow formation of a new Government through simple majority...

After weeks of wrangling, Nepal’s main parties have signed a deal that will allow formation of a new Government through simple majority but failed to reach a power sharing arrangement, shifting the battleground to the Constituent Assembly.

After a late-night meeting on the eve of the Assembly’s second sitting, the parties which had been loggerheads for over two-months, agreed to amend the constitution to include the provision of forming and dissolving the Government by simple majority.

The existing provision of the interim constitution require a two-thirds majority for government formation.

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After the amendment, the president, vice president and prime minister can be elected through a simple majority.

However, the president and vice president can only be impeached by two-thirds of the members.

The parties agreed to enforce all past peace agreements and pacts within 15 days and manage Maoist weapons and combatants within six months, Nepali Congress sources said.

Unable to resolve power sharing issues, including who should be the President, the parties agreed that it be decided by to 601-member Constituent Assembly through voting. Differences also persisted over the composition of the National Security Council (NSC).

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Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala will propose, among other things, a provision for inclusion of the main opposition leader in the Security Council despite the Maoists’ opposition to the provision and the voting will decide the matter, said Nepali Congress Spokesman Arjun Narsing KC.

The Maoists said they will vote against the resolution.

Maoist leader Dev Prasad Gurung said his party would table an amendment related to composition of the NSC and vote against Koirala’s proposal during clause-wise voting. CPN-UML is also likely to back the Maoists’ proposal.

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