By Xinhua,
Kathmandu : Major Nepali political parties in the Constituent Assembly (CA) on Wednesday sped up consultations with only two days left to go for prime minister election and to form a post-election government.
Chairman Prachanda of the largest CA party, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (CPN-M), and General Secretary Jhalanath Khanal of the third largest CA party, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) (CPN-UML), held talks on Wednesday morning on the latest political developments of the country including the formation of the new government.
During the talks, they focused on how to form a national consensus government and how to incorporate Nepali Congress (NC), the second largest party, in the government.
According to Nepali national news agency RSS, General Secretary Khanal suggested Prachanda to make a consensus government by calling a four major parties’ meeting including the NC, and Madhesi People’s Rights Forum (MPRF), the fourth largest CA party.
As there was no consensus among the four parties, election for the prime minister was scheduled for the coming Friday.
The delay in formation of a new government was caused after NC said it would not participate in the government unless it is given the defense ministry portfolio, according to RSS.
The major parties including the CPN-M, NC and CPN-UML intensified talks as the filing of nominations for the Prime Ministerial candidates at the CA is scheduled for Thursday.
In a parliamentary meeting of the NC on Wednesday, the party lawmakers seemed widely divided on whether to participate in the soon-to-be formed government.
During the meeting, some of the senior NC leaders opined that it would be appropriate to join the CPN-M led government only if the party was given a respectable position in the future government and the past pacts were strictly implemented, while other NC CA members said that the NC should stay in the opposition without exhibiting the party’s greed for power, according to local leading news website eKantipur.
Minister for Peace and Reconstruction and NC leader Ram Chandra Poudel said, “Until now, we have not forged an agreement on a common minimum program, implementation of past pacts and power-sharing in a single package, that’s why it seems that there is no agreement on any of the points so far.”
Earlier on Wednesday, the majority of the NC central leaders floated the idea that their party should not join the government and stay as an opposition party at the party central meeting at in Nepali capital Kathmandu.