Leaders from UCPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and United Madhesi Democratic Front (UDMF) took the decision at a meeting of the High Level Political Committee (HLPC) held at New Baneshwar on Sunday.[break]
"We decided to extend full-fledged support to the government. We have decided to instruct members of our respective political parties to support the government teams to be mobilized across the country," Congress leader Ram Sharan Mahat told Republica.
The government has decided to send mobile teams to provide citizenship certificates to those who have been deprived of it and update voters´ registration by enrolling those who couldn´t register themselves during previous campaigns launched by the Election Commission.
However, dissident political parties including Mohan Baidya-led CPN-Maoist, which have disrupted the Commission´s drive in the past, have announced not to allow such teams from visiting villages.
The leaders also decided to take initiatives to hold negotiations with the dissident political parties and persuade them to join the election process.
The HLPC´s decision comes a day after head of the interim election government Khil Raj Regmi sought president´s support to bring the dissident political parties on board the election process. Regmi had requested also the president to ask the leaders from major parties to take initiatives for the purpose.
According to Mahat, UCPN (Maoist) leaders, during the meeting, also became ready to vacate the positions where the Baburam Bhattarai-led government made political appointments.
Congress and UML leaders have been demanding that the Maoist appointees be removed from some crucial bodies such as the National Planning Commission, the Poverty Alleviation Fund and some other corporations. "UCPN (Maoist) leaders have agreed in principle in this connection," said Mahat. They insisted on the demand saying that such political appointees can´t be given continuity as they might influence the coming election in favor of the political party they were loyal to.
Congress President Sushil Koirala headed the Committee´s meeting on Sunday as currently he is the head of the Committee on rotation basis. Earlier, Dahal headed the body.
Koirala had vowed to bring Baidya-led Maoist party and other dissident political parties on board the election process. But Baidya turned down his proposal outright during talks with Koirala last week. Party chiefs from UCPN (Maoist), Congress, UML and UDMF and other key leaders from the same parties were present during the meeting.
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