The PDCC has got two more weeks after it failed to make headway on resolving key contentious issues in the past three months. The deadline for the task expired earlier this month.

While submitting its report to the CA, the PDCC had sought some time reasoning that it had made a good progress towards resolving the disputes. As per the CA calendar, the tasks of preparing the first statute draft should have begun in the third week of September but parties failed to stick to the deadline. Consensus efforts would be made without affecting the mid-October deadline for preparing the first draft. The parties got the two weeks out of the time allocated for the drafting task.

If the parties fail to forge consensus, the contentious issues will be decided through a vote even as the major parties are sharply divided over the modality.

PDCC Chairman Baburam Bhattarai expressed his confidence that the parties would settle the contentious issues of the new constitution within the two weeks.

“Parties are committed to deliver a new constitution by January 22,” he said.

Cross-party leaders say they will prepare the first draft by mid-October as per the calendar even if all the contentious issues are not resolved on time. The first draft could be taken to the people to solicit their views even if key contentious issues remain unresolved.

The disputed issues would be put into the draft and they could be settled even after seeking people’s suggestions as devised in the calendar. “The PDCC can continue with its task of settling contentious issues without hampering key tasks such as drafting and seeking people’s suggestions,” NC leader Krishna Prasad Sitaula told the Post. Federalism, forms of governance, electoral system and judiciary have long been debated without substantial progress.