The House is scheduled to begin discussions beginning Thursday on the proposal registered by the Maoist party calling for an end to the ongoing process to elect new prime minister and begin it anew. [break]
Nepali Congress (NC) parliamentary party leader Ram Chandra Poudel remains the only candidate in the current prime ministerial race. The Maoist proposal will be put to a vote on Friday.
The NC, the CPN-UML and all the Madhes-based parties have already decided to vote down the Maoist proposal.
“Yes, the Maoist proposal is likely to fail with the major parties deciding to go against it,” said UML chief whip Bhim Acharya.
The UML has decided to defeat the Maoist proposal but vote against the candidacy of Poudel in the upcoming winter session if the latter doesn´t withdraw his candidacy of his own accord. The UML has stated that the candidacy of Poudel would be scrapped once a majority of parliamentarians vote against it.
The parliament will formally begin discussions on the proposal from Thursday. According to parliament secretariat, altogether eight hours have been allocated to the parliamentarians to speak on the issue. “The House will hold three-hour debate on Thursday and five-hours on Friday before holding a vote,” said an official at the parliament secretariat.
The president summoned the special session upon the request of the Maoist lawmakers in this regard. As per the constitutional provision, the president is required to summon the special session if one-fourth of the parliamentarians so demand.
The UML has stated that the government should be ready to call winter session for the purpose of electing a new prime minister. “When the Maoist proposal is voted down, the government should call a normal session,” Acahrya said.
Related story
Trump, positive for COVID-19, says won't participate in virtual...
