CPN-UML Secretary Pradeep Gyawali said on Tuesday that his party will support the process of constitution amendment if the proposal tabled in Parliament is revoked and a new one prepared in agreement with the second largest party.

Speaking at an interaction organised in Kathmandu, Gyawali said the constitution amendment process was initiated solely by the governing coalition.

“The ruling parties should include us in the process of preparing an amendment proposal. We cannot support the proposal that has been already tabled,” Gyawali said, adding that the government should bring major political parties including the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal on the table.

The statement comes at a time when the local level elections are scheduled to be held in Province 2 on September 18.

The RJP-Nepal has been demanding endorsement of the constitution amendment proposal.

The party boycotted the two rounds of local elections citing the failure of the government to fulfil its demands.

Gyawali, however, said the parties should, rather than being stuck with constitution amendment, work to ensure that the local, provincial and central elections are held before January next year.

The UML leader also appealed to the RJP-Nepal to participate in the election process and respect the people’s verdict.

“People are eager to vote. We need to honour the popular sentiment,” Gyawali said, adding that the UML was willing to bridge the gap with the RJP-Nepal through talks. The agitating Madhes-based parties have accused the UML of having a tough stance on constitution amendment.