Maoist candidate Pushpa Kamal Dahal got 213 votes in his favor and 99 votes against him. Of the total 568 lawmakers present, 156 neither stayed neutral. [break]
Similarly, NC candidate Ram Chandra Poudel received 122 votes in his favor and 245 against him. Of the 561 lawmakers present during the session, 194 stayed neutral.
Unlike the third round of voting for the prime minister, there were no cases of floor crossing from Madhesi parties in the voting on Friday. Altogether 11 lawmakers from Madhesi People´s Rights Forum (MPRF) and one lawmaker from CPN-ML had voted in favor of Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal against the decision of their respective parties to stay neutral in the third round of voting.
The fifth round of voting for the prime minister has been scheduled for August 18. Sources said the date was fixed with some two weeks interval in between at the request of Nepali Congress (NC) as the party is holding its district level convention across the country on August 12.
Talking to mediapersons after the voting, NC prime ministerial candidate Poudel said the party would not withdraw its candidacy from the PM race. He claimed that he will win in the next round of voting.
“We will ask the parties that have stayed neutral to vote in our favor in the next round of voting,” he added.
CPN-UML Chairman Jhalanath Khanal said the failure of parliament to elect a new prime minister even after fourth round of voting has made it clear that the country wants a consensus government, not a majority government. “Now it is time to move ahead in a new way,” he said.
30 Maoist lawmakers fail to show up
Our lawmakers were full of enthusiasm when they were elected to the Constituent Assembly two and half years back, not so any longer.
In the fourth round of voting on Friday, 133 lawmakers, including 30 Maoists, were absent when they were called to vote for Maoist prime ministerial candidate Pushpa Kamal Dahal.
Of the 238 Maoist votes, Dahal received only 213 as some lawmakers of fringe parties also voted for him.
Maoist lawmakers, including Giriraj Mani Pokharel, Lokendra Bist and Amrita Thapa, could not enter the hall as the speaker had already ordered the security personnel to close the gate. “I was trapped in a traffic jam. The doors were had just been closed when I reached the venue,” said Maoist lawmaker Pokharel.
Similarly, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of Madhesi People´s Rights Forum (MPRF) Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar, Chairman of Tarai Madhes Democratic Party (TMDP) Mahantha Thakur, Minister for Agriculture Migrendra Kumar Singh, Minister for Tourism Sarat Singh Bhandari, State Minister for Physical Planning and Works Sanjaya Kumar Sah, State Minister for Agriculture Karima Begum, and Minister for Women Sarwadev Ojha could not reach the venue on time. The ministers claimed that they were stuck in a traffic jam.
However, 93 lawmakers, who were outside the hall, were allowed to cast their votes during the voting for NC prime ministerial candidate Ram Chandra Poudel in the second session.
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