The Hindu : International : Parties close in on power-sharing deal

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Monday, Jun 09, 2008
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International

Parties close in on power-sharing deal

Ameet Dhakal

New Nepal government by end of the week

— PHOTO: AP

Upping the ante: Nepali Congress (NC) supporters attend the party’s first mass assembly after elections were held, in Kathmandu on Sunday. NC leaders criticised the Maoists for “not being fully democratic.”

KATHMANDU: Political parties in Nepal are closing in on a deal to form the next government after the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) agreed to amend the interim Constitution.

The Maoists, in principle, have agreed to introduce a provision of simple majority in the interim Constitution for the formation and removal of the government. Following this agreement, the three major parties — the CPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress, and Communist Party of Nepal (UML) — on Sunday formed a task force and set a two-day timeframe to prepare a draft of the agreement on the amendment and power sharing. The taskforce was formed after a meeting held at Maoists’ Chairman Prachanda’s residence on Sunday morning.

The taskforce has also been asked to outline steps to take the peace process to its logical end. After the taskforce prepares its recommendations by Monday, leaders of the three parties are likely to meet on Tuesday and finalise the deal in consultation with leaders of the other parties in the Constituent Assembly (CA). The next government is likely to be formed by the end of this week.

Negotiations continue

Though it’s clear that the Maoists, the largest party in the CA, would lead the government and its Mr. Prachanda would become the executive Prime Minister, question still lingers on who would become the first President. Nepali Congress is pushing the name of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala as President, while the UML is also lobbying for the name of its former General-Secretary Madhav Nepal.

The Maoists, who hold the key, have not supported any candidate yet. The central committee meeting of the Maoists, which ended here on Sunday, decided that the post of President should not go to the larger parties.

Since the parties have nearly agreed to elect the President through a simple majority in the CA, the Maoists have the luxury of choosing who they want to join hands with.

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