The prime ministerial election in Parliament, for which the schedule was unveiled on Friday, has boiled down to the question what decision the Election Commission (EC) comes up with in relation to the vote counting fiasco in Bharatpur Metropolitan City.

As per the scheduled published by the Parliament Secretariat, nomination can be filed on Saturday and voting to elect the new prime minister will take place on Sunday.

But whether the CPN-UML would allow the House to function on Sunday depends on EC decision.

The UML has been obstructing House proceedings demanding that vote counting in Bharatpur be resumed without delay.

As many as 90 ballot papers were found torn on Thursday when election authorities and party representatives counted the ballot papers which were secured in a sealed bag after they were torn allegedly by some CPN (Maoist Centre) cadres on Sunday night. 

The UML’s mayoral candidate was leading when the fracas at around 11:45pm on Sunday resulted in the halt of vote counting. 

According to the election schedule, any member of the Legislature-Parliament willing to contest the prime ministerial election can register his/her candidacy from 11am to 4pm on Saturday at the Parliament Secretariat. The final list of the candidates will be published at 4:30pm the same day. 

The UML has made it clear that the party will not let the House function until vote counting in Bharatpur resumes.

Chief Election Commissioner Ayodhee Prasad Yadav told the Post that the EC did hold a meeting on Friday but could not take a decision on the Bharatpur issue as Ila Sharma, one of the commissioners, was out of town.

When the Post spoke to Sharma, she said she was in Parsa and that she had already put forth her views on the Bharatpur incident.

“I don’t think my absence only should not have prevented the EC from taking a decision,” she said. “But most probably a decision will come tomorrow [Saturday].”

EC Spokesperson Surya Prasad Sharma said he could not say when a decision on the Bharatpur incident would come. 

Amid this, the schedule for electing the new prime minister has already been made public and according to Bharat Raj Gautam, spokesperson for the Parliament Secretariat, voting will start at 11am on Sunday. 

During a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) on Friday, the UML was of the view that it would not be possible to start the process to elect new prime minister “if the House obstruction continues”. 

“We suggested that the Speaker wait for the House to resume before starting the election process,” said UML Chief Whip Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal. “But she would not take our suggestion.” 

Leaders of the Nepali Congress and CPN (Maoist Centre) argued that the country cannot be run by a caretaker government for long and suggested that the Speaker start the process [on Sunday].