E-Kantipur

KATHMANDU, DEC 18 -

Opposition parties led by the UCPN (Maoist) have registered a proposal demanding the commencement of a new process for electing the prime minister by the Parliament from its session starting Sunday.

Backed by six fringe parties, Maoist Chief Whip Post Bahadur Bogati registered the proposal at the Parliament Secretariat on Friday. The proposal has called for giving a fresh start to the prime ministerial election, arguing that the candidacy of Nepali Congress Parliamentary Party leader Ram Chandra Poudel has ended with the closure of the budget session on Nov. 19.

President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav last week summoned the new session for Sunday afternoon after one-fourth of the 601-members of the CA submitted a written request in line with article 51 (3) of the Interim Constitution. The seven parties have also given a notice for the amendment of the Parliamentary Rules of Procedures that will ensure the end of the futile prime ministerial race.

Speaker Subas Nem-bang said he has invited a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee of the Parliament on Sunday morning to finalise the procedures for dealing with the agenda forwarded by the parties who demanded the session. Nepali Congress and UML have said they will vote against the Maoist proposal in the next session. “We are hopeful that the majority of lawmakers will back our proposal and pave the way for ending the  stalemate,” said Maoist leader Dev Gurung. NC leader Poudel, however, said the UML’s decision on Thursday regarding ending the party’s neutral position and voting for a majority government was an ice-breaker. “The Maoist proposal will be defeated in the coming session. The government should call a new session to resolve the deadlock,” said Poudel.

Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal is likely to address the parliament on the behalf of the opposition parties to explain the need for the special session on Sunday. Then, the next session, which will be called after two or three days, will start discussions on the proposal submitted by the seven opposition parties.

The proposal registered at the Parliament Secretariat on Thursday should secure a simple majority (300 votes if all 599 members are present) of the total lawmakers attending the session to get endorsement of the House.

The Maoists and the fringe parties have suggested that the House only conduct election for the prime minister three times over the given proposals.

In case more than two nominations are filed, the House would only vote for the two proposals securing highest votes in the second round.

The voting procedure will be scrapped and a new one would be started if the next race fails to yield result, states the amendment notice backed by Dev Gurung, Sarita Giri, Tilak Bahadur Thapa Magar, Jaypuri Gharti, Pari Thapa, Gayatri Saha, Buddharatna Manandhar and Malwar Singh Thapa.

Posted on: 2010-12-18 09:47

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