Prez to talk to leaders today

KATHMANDU, Dec 17: President Ram Baran Yadav has summoned leaders from major political forces at his office for Tuesday morning as the parties failed to find a consensus prime ministerial candidate to head an election government even as the fourth deadline given by the head of state expired on Monday.



After repeated calls by the president during informal discussions yielded no result, Yadav had issued a deadline in writing on November 23.[break]



“The president is scheduled to hold a meeting with the chiefs of the four major political forces tomorrow [Monday] morning and he will subsequently take a decision with regard to extension of the timeline,” the president´s press advisor, Rajendra Dahal, told Republica.



UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Nepali Congress President Sushil Koirala, CPN-UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal and Coordinator of United Madhesi Democratic Front (UDMF) Bijay Gachchhadar are invited at the president´s office.



Leaders from the major political parties have failed to recommend a common candidate to head the election government even though they have been holding several rounds of interparty negotiations in the recent days.



The opposition alliance led by the Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN-UML has proposed NC President Koirala´s candidacy. The ruling UCPN (Maoist) party has not accepted it so far.

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