KATHMANDU, Sept 3: With an agreement in principle among the political parties represented in the High Level Political Committee (HLPC) to go for a 601-member Constituent Assembly (CA), a final deal with the agitating Federal Socialist Party (FSP) is very likely on Wednesday.
A HLCP meeting on Tuesday that forged consensus among the UCPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and the United Democratic Madhesi Front (UDMF) to go for a fresh CA election under the provisions as obtained during the previous CA election decided to sit for talks with Ashok Rai-led FSP on Wednesday evening to clinch a final deal. [break]
The HLPC meeting decided to defer talks with the Rai-led FSP for one day after leaders of the Upendra Yadav-led Federal Democratic Front (FDF) in the HLPC said they could take a formal decision to go for a 601-member CA with a provision to elect 26 members from the cabinet, only after holding a meeting with the constituent parties of the alliance. Earlier, the FDF in a six-point deal with the HLPC, agreed to go for a 585-member CA with a provision to nominate only 10 members through the cabinet.
UCPN (Maoist) leader Narayan Kaji Shrestha said they reached a consensus to bring the Ashok Rai-led FSP on board the election process as there was agreement among all parties in the HLPC to go for a fresh election as per the provisions as obtained during the previous CA poll. “A final deal with them is likely at the meeting scheduled for Wednesday,” Shrestha told Republica.
Top leaders of the parties represented in the HLPC are scheduled to hold informal talks with the FSP during the day before sitting for formal talks at 5 pm. Leaders said FSP is flexible over other demands such as ensuring participation of Nepalese living abroad in the voting and dissolution of the HLPC and holding an all-party conference to settle key political issues related to the new statute.
Earlier, the HLPC failed to clinch a deal with the FSP after the CPN-UML stood against increasing the CA size to 601 in contravention of the agreement reached with the FDF to limit the CA to 585-members. A Central Committee meeting of the CPN-UML on Monday, however, decided to be flexible over the number of CA seats if that brings the agitating parties on board the election process.
The HLPC meeting on Tuesday also decided to hold talks with the agitating alliance of 33 various parties led by the CPN-Maoist, saying that the alliance had shown them ´positive gestures´ regarding joining the election process. “We will make a last-ditch effort to bring the agitating Baidya-led alliance into the polls. But we are of course not in favor of waiting for long,” said Nepali Congress leader Arjun Narasingh KC.
Sources said a section of the CPN-Maoist and the constituent parties in the alliance led by it have conveyed during informal meetings with leaders of parties in the HLPC that they would be ready to participate in the November poll if a roundtable political conference was held.
“They are under extreme pressure to take a decision whether or not to boycott the poll. But it seems they are yet to take any decision on poll participation,” said a leader who is holding informal talks with leaders of the Baidya-led alliance over polls.
HLPC Coordinator Sushil Koirala is scheduled to hold informal talks with CPN-Maoist leaders Wednesday to learn if they are ready for November polls under the current Khil Raj Regmi-led government if a roundtable conference is held.
The leaders in the HLPC are preparing to stop any overtures for talks if the Baidya-led alliance fails to show flexibility over its demand for a change of government and the date of the election now scheduled for November 19.
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