In an effort to bridge deepening differences between the ruling political parties and the main opposition Unified CPN (Maoist), the parties have agreed to avoid a vote for the post.
Unified CPN (Maoist), Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN (Unified Marxist-Leninist), in a meeting held on Saturday, decided to postpone the date for the vote and subsequently requested CA Chairman Subas Nembang to defer it till August 28. The CA secretariat had earlier scheduled the election for August 17.
The date was rescheduled with a view to bring together all the top political leaders for a meeting. The Maoists had requested the leaders from other parties to put off the date as their party chairman Puspha Kamal Dahal is now in Europe. Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal is leaving for India on Tuesday.
"I called a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) of the CA for Sunday morning to discuss the matter after the chief whips of the three largest political parties told me they needed more time as they are committed to choosing the CC head by consensus," CA Chairman Subas Nembang told myrepublica.com.
Nembang will announce the date in the CA meeting later on Sunday afternoon after consultations at the BAC.
“We decided to ask the CA chair to postpone the election so that we can reach consensus over the name of the CC head,” said Maoist Vice Chairman Narayankaji Shrestha after the three-party meeting.
According to CPN-UML chief whip Bhim Acharya, the parties agreed to defer the date as the Maoists were now ready to resolve the present crises including the army integration issue, the House deadlock and other issues in a package.
The deepening mistrust among the main parties took a turn for the better after a standing committee meeting of CPN-UML on Friday decided to strive for a consensus candidate, claimed Bharat Mohan Adhikari, whom the CPN-UML entrusted with holding talks with other political parties.
He said the Maoists were ready to become supportive if they are given sufficient time for further homework.
NC Vice President Gopal Man Shrestha said they agreed to put off the date mainly for the sake of reaching consensus. He informed that senior NC leader Sher Bahadur Deuba and five other members of the CC are currently on a visit to Asian countries including Japan and Vietnam.
Earlier, Prime Minister Nepal called a meeting of the nine coalition parties at his official residence in Baluwatar to brief them about the Maoist request to defer the date. The parties suggested to the prime minister and the big three parties to go for a consensus candidate, according to Chandra Dev Joshi of CPN (United), a participant in the meeting.
The Unified CPN (Maoist) and NC have staked their claims for the post. The Maoist party has officially named its vice chairman Dr Baburam Bhattarai as its candidate for the post while the NC is yet to make an official announcement. NC General Secretary Bimalendra Nidhi and NC-nominated CA member Nilamber Acharya are favorites for the job.
The post of CC chairman has remained vacant since then committee chairman Madhav Kumar Nepal was elected to the post of prime minister on May 23.
The CC is considered to be a crucial committee given its dual role in constitution-making, unlike the other committees. Besides preparing a preliminary framework for the new constitution, it has to prepare the first draft of that document as per the recommendations and guidelines given by the CA, integrating all the preliminary drafts presented by the other 10 thematic committees.
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