By IRNA,
New Delhi : Top envoys, including those from India, the US and UN, on Thursday stepped up consultations with top political leaders of Nepal for an early election of a new prime minister so that the stalled peace process is not derailed.
Ambassadors of India and United States along with chief of the UNMIN, which is tasked to monitor the 2006 peace process, intensified high-level political parleys amid growing political uncertainty with the parliament failing to elect the new prime minister despite two rounds of voting.
Indian ambassador, Rakesh Sood, met Nepali Congress vice president and party’s prime ministerial candidate, Ram Chandra Poudyal, and discussed the political development in the country including the prime ministerial election, PTI reported.
Poudyal claimed that the Nepali Congress would be able to garner enough support from the parties to form the new government in the next round of voting on August 2.
Scott H. DeLisi, the US ambassador to Nepal, held separate meetings with Maoist chairman and party’s prime ministerial candidate Prachanda and Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (Loktantrik) chairman Bijay Kumar Gachchhadar, who is also the deputy prime minister in the caretaker government.
DeLisi underlined the need for the formation of new government at the earliest.
He said successive indecisive voting for the Prime Minister’s post would only deepen the political deadlock in the country.
Prachanda told the envoy that his party is in favour of a consensus government for which it is holding talks with other parties.
The US ambassador had met the CPN-UML chairman, Jhala Nath Khanal, on Wednesday, conveying his government’s concern over the prolonged deadlock.
DeLisi told Khanal that the CPN-UML’s decision to remain neutral during the prime ministerial election will only further delay the government formation and eventually put the peace and constitution drafting process at risk.
Karin Landren, Chief of the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), during her meeting with Maoist vice-chairman, Baburam Bhattarai, on Thursday expressed concern over the ongoing exercise to form a majority-based government.
She said such a government may not be able to conclude the peace process and draft the new constitution.
“She requested Bhattarai to take steps for a consensus government as a majority-based government would be weak to complete the peace process,” Bhattarai’s aide, Biswadeep Pandey, was quoted as saying.
According to Pandey, Landren said protracted process of government formation is consuming time, while the UNMIN’s extended term is coming to an end soon.
As such, the remaining time will not be sufficient to complete the process of the integration and rehabilitation of the Maoist combatants.
A run-off poll for the Prime Minister’s post ended in a fiasco on July 23, with both Maoist supremo Prachanda and his 65-year-old Nepali Congress rival Poudyal failing to get majority support in the 601-member parliament.
58-year-old former premier Prachanda received 241 votes in favour and 113 against him.
The lawmakers had rejected him for the post in the July 21 election as well when he had bagged 242 votes in favour and 114 against, failing to touch the magic figure of 301.
Poudyal too crashed out of the race, receiving just 123 votes in favour and 243 against. In the earlier round on July 21, he received only 124 votes.
The CPN-Maoist is the single-largest party with 238 MPs, while Nepali Congress and CPN-UML have 114 and 109 seats respectively in the Constituent Assembly, whose two-year term was extended by one-year on May 28.
The Maoists fought a 10-year civil war against the state before winning 2008 elections, abolishing Nepal ‘s 240-year-old monarchy and turning the country into a secular republic.
The Maoists led by Prachanda formed a government in 2008, but it later collapsed after a dispute with President, Ram Baran Yadav, over their attempt to replace the then army chief, Rukmangad Katawal.
The country has been in political limbo since the resignation of Prime Minister, Madhav Kumar Nepal, who is currently heading a caretaker government.
Meanwhile, Political analysts have warned that a delay in forming a new government could derail the 2006 peace process.
“There will be chaos. All the government’s plans and policies will be affected,” a top analyst said.