KATHMANDU, Dec 16: Top leaders of the ruling parties have started holding informal discussions to elect a non-political person as the new president of the country.

Multiple leaders belonging to the ruling parties including Nepali Congress (NC) and CPN (Maoist Center) that Republica talked to confirmed that preliminary discussions are currently underway to elect a ‘non-political’ person as president as practiced in some other countries*. “There has not been any decision yet on this. I can confirm to you that discussions to this end are currently underway to elect a ‘non-political’ person as a new president,” said a senior NC leader, asking not to be named.

Sources said both the NC and Maoist Center are positive about the idea of electing a non-political person as the new president as they have agreed so far to maintain the ruling alliance intact.

The NC and Maoist Center have already reached an informal agreement to share the post of prime minister for two and a half years each during the five-year term of the new parliament. But as the NC and the Maoists are set to take either the portfolio of Prime Minister or President as a part of the power sharing deal, there will be a time when both the positions of prime minister and president will be held by the same party. “This is likely to invite a dangerous situation as seen in the recent past when both the prime minister and president were of the same party,” said the NC leader.

Parliament was dissolved twice by the then Prime Minister KP Oli, who is also the chairman of CPN-UML, with a tacit support of President Bidya Bhandari, who formerly belonged to the same party. Sources claimed the Maoist Center has also given its nod to the proposal out of the same concern.  Other constituent parties in the ruling alliance are also not opposed to the proposal if the NC and Maoist Center agree to it.

NC leader Ram Hari Khatiwada, who is close to Prime Minister and NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba, said no decision has been taken in this regard so far, although Prime Minister Deuba has been holding discussions with the former prime ministers and civil society leaders to discuss how political stability can be ensured in the country.

“The recently held parliamentary elections have brought fractured mandates. Prime Minister Deuba wants to ensure political stability. You have seen how the president with certain political allegiance is behaving now,” he said. “The President has started obstructing both ordinances and bills endorsed by parliament. This precedent can be dangerous for the country’s political stability in the days ahead.”

Rival faction within the NC is least impressed with the idea to elect a ‘non-political’ person as the new president. “This could be an attempt to derail the country’s political course. We won’t support this. We will strongly protest against any such move,” said a leader belonging to the rival faction within the NC.

However, NC leaders belonging to the establishment faction told Republica that Prime Minister Deuba has already held preliminary discussions on the possible candidates for the post. The names of former chief justices of Supreme Court Khil Raj Regmi and Kalyan Shrestha are some of the names under discussion now, according to leaders familiar with the development. PM Deuba has already held a meeting with Regmi in Baluwatar on Wednesday.

This development comes in the wake of a section of civil society leaders in Nepal alleging that foreign governments were actively trying to influence the formation of the new political dispensation in Nepal including the new government. On Wednesday, a group of civil society leaders even issued a joint statement, alleging that foreign governments were making attempts to influence the formation of new executive leadership in Nepal. Although they did not make any clear reference, the civil society group indicated that New Delhi was actively involved in shaping a new political dispensation in Nepal.  

“We […] wish to register our concern over the ongoing attempt to subvert the mandate of the parliamentary elections on 20 November 2022, in a way that would undermine the sovereignty of the people and representative democracy. At a time when the sitting of parliament and formation of government through due process and established norms should be the next step for the elected representatives, frequent meetings between our top leaders and foreign diplomats sends ominous signals that voting by the electorate is not decisive,” said the joint statement.

The statement was issued jointly by prominent civil society leaders Tirtha Man Shakya, Kul Chandra Gautam, Yubaraj Ghimire, Sushil Pyakurel and Kanak Mani Dixit. While expressing concern over the unscrupulous horse-trading for government formation abetted by foreign intervention, they cautioned that the formation of a new government engineered by foreign intervention will only deliver more unaccountable and corrupt governance, depriving the Nepali public of the fruits of political stability, economic growth, inclusion and equity.

*Corrected

 
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