Despite pressure from the left alliance to step down without delay, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba will not resign before electing the National Assembly, Nepali Congress leaders have reiterated.
Despite pressure from the left alliance to step down without delay, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba will not resign before electing the National Assembly, Nepali Congress leaders have reiterated.
Leaders of the PM’s party say there was consensus within the Congress that the NC should not leave the government prior to elections to the upper house. NC leaders argue that the federal parliament remains incomplete without the National Assembly (NA). In the first-past-the-post category of the House of Representatives elections, the NC won only 23 seats while the CPN-UML emerged as the largest party with 80 positions.
NC leaders said the government has a duty to prepare laws for the NA election. There is pressure on Deuba from party colleagues not to resign bowing to pressure from the UML and the CPN (Maoist Centre).
Left alliance leaders argue that the Assembly would be formed only a new government takes charge on the basis of the House of Representatives election results.
The left alliance of the UML and the Maoists has been pressing Deuba to clear the way for formation of a new government. NC leaders have responded that the government formation process will begin only after the Election Commission publishes final results of the federal and provincial elections.
“Since the ordinance was prepared before the elections, it is inappropriate to link it with the poll results. The President should pass the ordinance without any delay and pave the way for government formation,” said Prakash Sharan Mahat, an NC leader close to Deuba.
Mahat said all the parties were committed to an inclusive Assembly and the ordinance has provisions for inclusiveness.
Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Yagya Bahadur Thapa said President Bidya Devi Bhandari has no alternative but to endorse the ordinance.
The Election Commission has been asking the political parties and the government to prepare the laws for holding elections to the upper house. “If the government finalises the law, we are all prepared for the elections,” said EC Spokesperson Navaraj Dhakal.
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