Former Legislature-Parliament Speaker and CPN-UML leader Subas Nembang has accused the government led by the Nepali Congress of trying to undermine the people’s mandate.

He alleged that the government of Sher Bahadur Deuba had been trying to prevent the newly elected representatives from carrying out the popular mandate on the pretext of legal hurdles to holding the National Assembly elections.

Talking to journalists in Damak of Jhapa on Sunday, Nembang urged Prime Minister Deuba to make way for a new government at the earliest. “It would be inappropriate to prevent the representatives from forming a government by creating unnecessary hurdles,” he said.

The UML leader accused the government of delaying the ordinance on National Assembly election. He argued that the problem had surfaced since the ordinance was introduced after the elections. “Moreover, the provision of single transferable voting (STV) system mentioned in the ordinance is against the spirit of the constitution,” he added.

Nembang remarked that the government’s stance for the STV system came from its sense of loss in the polls. He claimed that the NC tried to impose the system with an aim to increase its representation in the upper house.

In a different context, Nembang said the process of unification between the UML and the CPN (Maoist Centre) was in progress. He called on the people not to doubt a merger of the two parties as both had taken their electoral victory with humility.

Nembang was elected to the House of Representatives from Ilam-2. Before heading to the Capital on Sunday, the UML leader assured the people that development works would gain momentum in the constituency.