By NNN-NepalNews,
Kathmandu : Election for the first president and vice president of Nepal has begun at the International Convention Centre (ICC) in New Baneshor.
The election scheduled for 11 am Saturday was delayed due to last minute reshuffle of the alliances among the political parties.
The voting process began after CPN (UML), Nepali Congress and Madhesi Janadhikar Forum agreed to support each other’s candidate sidelining the CPN (Maoist).
The constituent assembly members were found outside the ICC building counting the number of votes to see the possibility of who could win the elections.
In a sudden shift in political equation, three parties – Nepali Congress (NC), CPN (UML) and Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) – have agreed to share the three key positions – president, vice-president and chair of the Constituent Assembly (CA).
As per the understanding reached at a meeting of the three parties Saturday morning, just ahead of the presidential election, UML and MJF have agreed to back NC’s presidential candidate Dr Ram Baran Yadav while MJF’s Paramananda Jha will get support for the vice presidential slot. Likewise, UML has settled for the chair of the CA.
However, the three parties will have to bring few other allies on board to reach the magic number, 298, in order to materialise their agreement.
The ‘new alliance’ was born after the Maoists refused to back both UML and NC candidates for the post of the president, and instead went ahead with its own candidate.
Negotiations between the Maoists and MJF leaders Saturday morning had failed.
MJF parliamentary leader Bijaya Kumar Gachhedar said after the meeting that his party would not support Maoist presidential candidate, Ram Raja Prasad Singh, as they refused to back MJF candidate for vice presidential slot.
Two other Madhesi parties, Terai Madhes Loktantrik Party (TMLP) and Sadbhawana Party (SP), which had pledged support to Singh, are yet to comment on the new alliance of NC, UML and MJF.
Meanwhile, Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP-Nepal), the only monarchist party in the Constituent Assembly (CA), has decided to boycott the election to elect the first president of republican Nepal.
The meeting of the central working committee on Friday, decided to stay away from the election procedure accusing the major parties of using the election in overtly partisan manner by throwing out the politics of understanding.
In a statement signed by RPP-Nepal’s general secretary Tanka Dhakal, the party – which has four members in the 594-member strong Constituent Assembly – has condemned what it calls as the ‘means and media of establishing partisan domination in a position that ought to have been respectful, glorious and basis of national unity.’
The party has regretted that none of the big parties and, especially, the prime minister called all party meeting to decide on the issue of electing president.
The RPP-Nepal has urged that independent and respected national figure should be chosen as the chairman of the CA.