By NNN-PTI,
Kathmandu : In an anti-climax, Nepal’s Constituent Assembly Saturday failed to elect the country’s first president despite a last-minute political manoeuvring which saw the country’s three main groups joining hands to sideline the Maoists, intensifying the three-month long deadlock.
However, Madhesi People’s Rights Forum leader Parmanand Jha was elected the country’s first Vice President after he bagged 312 votes in the 594-member House, a partial victory for the Nepali Congress of Premier G P Koirala and Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist), the second and third largest parties respectively after the Maoists.
Saturday’s vote saw a vertical split in the House with the Nepali Congress candidate Ram Baran Yadav getting 294 votes, just four short of the magic figure of 298. Only 578 members caste their votes while 16 remained absent.
Maoist candidate for the President’s post Ramrajraja Prasad Singh, 74, of Nava Janawadi Morcha was close behind with 282 votes, state-run Nepal Television reported.
He was expected to win the election after Madhesi parties which have 86 votes had promised to back him until Saturday morning when Nepali Congress (110), CPN-UML (103)and MPRF reached a formal alliance for the three key posts.
Saturday’s election which saw a straight contest between the two candidates after CPN-UML’s Ram Prit Paswan withdrew his candidature in the eleventh hour was expected to end the deadlock since the April 10 election and pave the way for a government led by Maoist chief Prachanda.
However, with the three parties joining hands, analysts are not ruling out the possibility of their forming a government sidelining the Maoists.
The Assembly is yet to decide the date of the re-poll for electing the president who will take over most of the ceremonial duties earlier performed by ousted king Gyanendra.